One More Chance
by ObsidianNoir
Summary: The Grand Order of Chaldea has been completed. The Beast I, Goetia, has been stopped. Yet even with the Seven Singularities over, there are still disortions of the timeline happening across the globe. One of those is "The Creeping Shadows of the Illusionary Empire", Cologne, in the year 2002. As always, Ritsuka faces it head on, but will it be enough? Original Scenario OC Servants
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Creeping Shadow of the Illusionary Empire**

_"__So shiny... "_

_The little girl shuddered at the cold wind tickling her skin, snuggling into her soft blanket. Despite her shivering however, she smiled. Why shouldn't she? It was beautiful to look at, the scenery that unfolded before her on this balcony she stood on. Brushing her short white hair back, she giggled as her eyes shone brightly with excitement. It was not the first time she had seen this, yet she never tired of this._

_The stars adorned the night sky like jewels on a black blanket. Even though the minds of the citizens should be resting, there were still plenty of flames on on the roads of stone. Like a mirror, they shone brightly, like stars on the ground. Even though this mansion was so far away, she could practically feel the joy of it. It might have been the fantasy of a very creative imagination, but for her, it was a fact. How the people conversed with each other and wished each other a good night. How parents sang their children to sleep with lullabies. How certain places only came alive during this time, jests and laughter filling the air._

_The girl sighed wistfully, supporting her chin with her hands. Only in those times she could appreciate this. During the day she was too busy and the city would be a lot more chaotic. But now, she could enjoy this peace and beauty as much as she wanted. At least until her eye lids would betray her or one of her caretakers would find out about her nightly observations again._

_As beautiful as it was however, the girl could not help but think one thing with a small, pouty frown._

_"So small... "_

_It was not said as an insult, but as a simple observation. In her young mind, she compared the picture she was seeing now with those of ants. Cute little critters that could be easily blown over or crushed in the grass, the nature that was around them. So vulnerable, even though she knew what she compared with adorable insects were grown adults, powerful warriors and wise merchants. She couldn't help but think about the words she had heard earlier, humming thoughtfully._

_"Always remember. We have a duty to uphold. Our lineage demands it. Thus, we stand above the people."_

_Obviously she never quite understand what he meant. All she got was that she was special and being special meant she should do special things for other people. Nodding to herself, she came to a simple conclusion. Standing above someone meant looking over them! Which meant watching out for them! And since she was special, there was only one thing to do! Raising her arm, she looked up at the moon, smiling at the light shining at her._

_"I'll lead them!" She announced, not realizing the depth of her words, yet fully believing in them nonetheless. "Everything's going to be fine then!"_

_A childish promise, given under the light of Diana. A wish, untainted by the trials and tribulations yet to come._

/

Ritsuka Fujimaru prided himself on not passing out no matter what. Out of context it sounded like a ridiculous thing to be proud of, but since he usually dealt with monsters, heroes and other mythical events that would kill most people in his shoes, it was actually pretty amazing he was conscious for all the big events that occured in every single singularity. Well. Almost all of them. Still, he had a very solid track record. By all means, there were enough moments he shouldn't have survived, much less be awake for. Armies of wyvern, Roman legions, the fog of London, the entirety of Babylonia... Really, he was quite proud of his unbroken record of never fainting no matter what. The times he fell into a coma and then landed into Singularities didn't count, he thought with a huff. Inside the danger zones, he was always awake when it counted.

Thus far.

He grumbled, cracking his neck a bit at the stiffness of it. So much for his "winning" streak. Already he could imagine dozens of his servants making fun of him for having his breaking it...or decide he needed more training. He shuddered at the thought. So many Spartan encouragements and Gae Bolg thrown at him. Slapping his cheeks, he looked around, trying to assess the situation. All Ritsuka could remember was that something happened during the Rayshift. Some sort of complication? He was already in mid shift and he never quite understood the magus babble Da Vinci tended to use at these times. Anyway, one moment he was about to be turned into Spiritons as always and now he woke up with a pseudo hangover in some weird back alley. Old instincts awoke in him and he patted himself down for a moment.

"Alright, kidneys still there... I think."

With that worry out of the way, he crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. Alright, assessing the situation right now. Something went wrong during the Rayshift. He was alone right now, even though there were supposed to be four servants with him, courtesy of Da Vinci's latest idea, that being a lottery. The alley didn't seem like it belonged to modern times, being too roughly built compared to the even streets that were supposed to be there. Not to mention…

"Mash? Da Vinci? Anyone?"

Nothing. The connection wasn't there. All he had was static. No encouragements of his cute junior nor any weird jokes from the Renaissance genius. He sighed. Great. Total radio silence. As if he wasn't paranoid enough. This was starting to remind him way too much of the Prison Tower or Shimosa. Cut off from his allies in a strange world. At least he had one individual on his side at the time, but now it seemed he was completely on his own now. Ritsuka stared down his fist, shaking a bit before taking a long, deep breath.

"No use sitting around here," he muttered to himself. While things didn't go to plan at all, he had a Singularity to investigate. Best case scenario, he'd find the others in no time anyway. With that in mind, he stepped out of the darkness into the light. Covering his eyes to let them get used to, he blinked before gaping in shock. He remembered the briefing back then.

The year 2002. For some reason, a city in Germany, Cologne if he remembered right, was showing suspicious readings. Another Pseudo-Singularity, as there shouldn't be any major historical events in this time and place. Obviously he should've landed in a modern city the likes of Shinjuku.

He gulped.

This... this didn't look like a German city in the 21st century at all. Roads of stone. Windows with merely wooden doors, no glass in sight. Houses that were two stories high at most. Leather, togas and the like were used as clothes. Not to mention the gigantic coliseum where Ritsuka assumed the Cologne Cathedral was supposed to be…All signs pointed at him being in a Roman city, back in ancient times. Did even the Rayshift fail? Or was this the cause of the Singularity? Something that changed the landscape in some form like in other Singularities? Not to mention, what was the reason?

Lots of questions, naturally no answers in sight, because those things could never be easy. With a sigh, he looked around. At least the people seemed moderately non threatening. He frowned as he approached a particular woman more swaying than walking. Carefully, he cleared his throat and tapped her on the shoulder with his best servant winning smile.

"Uhm, excuse me!"

The moment the blonde turned around however, his eyes widened. While he was glad this wasn't like Agartha where the lady would've tried to bite his jugular off or something, Ritsuka could still see something obviously wrong. Nobody's eyes were supposed to look so glassy. Not to mention she seemed to drool actually and didn't seem to actually register him. With concern, he took a step back, looking at the rather pale woman.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmmmm….?" A dazed giggle escaped her, blinking slowly. Tilting her head, her smile widened in an unnatural way. "Ah, everything... is fine... " Then she slowly walked away, more muttering to herself than to him. "A beautiful... day….isn't it... ?"

Well, that didn't bode well at all. He leaned against the wall, taking a few moments to take in the situation. The woman was not a special case. Man, children, elderly, they all moved around in utter bliss but completely unaware of the situation surrounding them.

"Are they drugged... ?" Ritsuka clicked his tongue. "Hopefully it's not in the air."

While he was usually blessed with Mash's Poison Resistance (and sometimes cursed, due to Serenity), he didn't want to take it for granted. He shook his head. It didn't matter. If there was something that could affect him, what could a good for nothing magus do against that? As usual, he had to rely on what usually kept him alive: Pure dumb luck. With that in mind, he hummed, scratching his chin as he looked up at the biggest structure in the city.

"Maybe that Colosseum will give me some answers."

It was the obvious start to him. Place where the most violence was, replacing an important sightseeing building in the modern era and it caught his eye anyway. But before he could even walk to steps, he felt the world shift around him. Letting out a yelp, he landed right back in the alley he came out of. The sudden speed caused him to groan at the whiplash. Rubbing his neck, he turned around to the one who dragged him back in... and his eyes widened.

Blonde hair with an ahoge. Regal red robes that screamed nobility, ruined by the transparent part of the skirt that begged for panty shots. All this worn by the one with one of the smuggest smiles he ever came across.

"Quite brave! Some might even say foolish! Umu, good thing I was here, or you would've marched into dangerous places all by yourself!" She chided him, her hands on her hips as she puffed her chest out. Ritsuka couldn't help but brightened up by her presence.

"Nero! You're here!"

But the moment he said her name, he could tell something was off. The smile of hers became a bit more strained. Besides, Nero was the type to hug him immediately or do something similar. This Nero was a bit more wary and held more of a distance. Relatively speaking, as she was still very much a people person. Still, as much he could tell…

"I'm afraid I'm not the Nero you know." Shaking her head, she dramatically put her hand on her chest, using her left arm to gesture to her surroundings. "I have been summoned by the grail of this era, for the sake of humanity!" She paused before letting out an awkward giggle. "I think." Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly. "Aaanyway, shall you be my ally for this occasion?"

He couldn't help but laugh lightly. Even if this wasn't the Nero he knew, and this entire situation was more like Septem...She was still the same. Shaking his head in amusement, he extended his hand towards her.

"I guess where Rome is, Nero is there as well."

"Umu! Well said!" With vigor, she shook his hand with a good hold. "Now then, you look confused, so let this Emperor explain to you what she knows! Then you can tell me why you are here!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Grand Colosseum**

"Are you sure you don't want to make a connection?" Ritsuka asked, tugging at his new outfit. Well, rather his new brown cloak that he flung over his usual Chaldea clothes. It did the job to let him bled in a little bit. Still, he couldn't help but frown at his companion, wearing the same cloak to cover herself with. Nero giggled, grinning at him smugly.

"My, my, proposing already?" As he kept staring at her, merely raising his eyebrow, the empress took a deep breath, her amusement replaced with some seriousness as she nodded. "Umu, I'm sure. With what you told me, the connection with your Chaldea is unreliable. The surroundings supply me with enough energy. No need to strain yourself if you can avoid it."

He hummed as they followed the masses, talking amiably as much as they could in their current conditions. He wasn't a proper magus so he couldn't really say for sure that Nero was right. But given her personality, it was unlikely she was lying. Plenty of servants weren't connected to him during Singularities and they could fight just fine. Something caught his eyes, causing him to try and keep a neutral expression. The reason for his weariness? Roman soldiers, armed in bronze and with spears, eyeing the crowd with vigilant, focused and clear eyes. Apparently not everyone was high in the clouds. Thankfully the hallway into the colosseum was narrow enough that they could pass through with the stream. It didn't take long until they could reach their seats, located in the middle level.

Ritsuka couldn't help but whistle impressed. He had been to plenty of them, courtesy to his Nero and all the other Roma servants. But he could never get tired of seeing ancient sights coming to life. It was just so different from reading about it in books and actually be there. The smell of dirty dust being kicked around. The scorching sun, covered by the cloth to keep the spectators cool. How comfortable the seats were, even though they were mostly made out of rock. He sighed, his smile falling.

If only the atmosphere didn't feel so wrong. The excitement in the air was limited, mostly not even caused what was usually a big event. Any happiness felt fake. The smiles were fake. By now he was starting to get sick and tired of these false paradises. Shaking his head, he couldn't spot anything yet in the arena of note, only seeing some Roman soldiers fighting golems. By all means, they seemed to be the most genuine of the bunch when it came to actually living in the moment, if their wide grins were anything to go by. Crossing his arms, he turned to his right, seeing Nero casually eating some meat she got from... somewhere.

"Alright, while we wait here... " He twirled his hand at her once she blinked at him. "What's going on here?"

"Weeeeellll…" She swallowed her food and smirked at him. "I've been here some time, but as it stands, it's kinda hard to get information in here. However, in my infinite genius, I managed to gather something together!" She raised her hand to show off four of her fingers. "There are four servants here that are on the enemy side. I've only been able to see two of them thus far however." She pointed down at the arena as Ritsuka let out an impressed 'huh'. "Today should be the third one."

So they'd have all of the servants on their radar except one. That had to be a new record in terms of figuring out who his enemy was. A part of him thought it was a bit too good to be true but how did the saying go? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, he couldn't help but cross his arms, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Really?"

"Umu!" Nero nodded in excitement, ignoring the underlying suspicion of his question. "I shall tell you about the details later. More importantly, their leader seems to be called 'The Emperor'. They never show themselves to the commoners, which makes it rather difficult to discover their true identity."

The master couldn't help but look at the servant with a flat expression. Emperor. In a Singularity that was clearly inspired by Rome. Seemingly reigning over the populace like... an Emperor. If Ritsuka had to give it a score, he thought with a disappointed sigh, it'd be a two out of ten on a rating scale.

"That's not really creative."

Not that the class names of servants were creative as well, but apparently whatever mastermind was doing their work here had a terrible sense of taste. Not remotely enough chuuni. At least they could've added "Shadow" on it or something. Before he could continue bashing the enemy in his head however, he felt a shiver down his spine. Immediately, he turned his head to Nero, who was actually glaring at him. Clicking her tongue, she put her hand on her chest, narrowing her eyes even further.

"Are you implying there is a more glorious title than that of an emperor?" She growled quietly. Blinking at the uncharacteristic anger she showed, all he could do was nod slowly, raising his right hand at the same time.

"Uhm. Sorry."

"You shall be forgiven!" The servant huffed, crossing her arms as she glanced around at the crowd. After a short while, she sighed, not finding what she was looking for and turned back to him, raising her finger. "From what I could observe, the Emperor is able to control the populace through some form of poisoning they have spread in the water and food the commoners consume."

"So be careful with eating and drinking, got it... " He blinked for a moment, remembering something. Glancing at her hands, still somewhat dirty with fat, he narrowed his eyes before turning to her. Raising an eyebrow, he pointed at Nero, opening his mouth. But before he let out the words, he closed it again, leaving a very confused servant as he folded his hands and supported his chin with them. Right. Servants were tougher. And that was ignoring Imperial Privilege, that cheat code. Need some poison resistance? Coming right up, in at least five different flavors! Ritsuka never got how some people were allowed to have that as a thing. Especially on people like Ozymandias or Romulus. They didn't even need that in comparison to Cleopatra, or in this case, Nero!

Before he could complain about the nature of heroic spirits more however, the entire colosseum turned silent. He noticed how the air became different, as the last of the Roman soldiers left the arena. It didn't take long for them to notice the heavy footsteps from the North side. Applause sounded as the Chimera stepped out of the shadows, a mighty roar leaving it as it growled at its surroundings. The lion bared its teeth, the snake flickered its tongue, hissing at the audience and the goat silently glared at the opposite gate. Ritsuka felt the hair on his neck shiver and he could feel the sweat run down his skin. Glancing at Nero, he saw that she kept a stone cold expression, looking at the south gate with narrowed eyes.

Then the monster arrived.

With a loud yawn, the man scratched the stubble on his chin. His sharp yellow eyes were almost completely hidden behind his messy black hair, that almost touched the top of his chest armor. For a moment Ritsuka couldn't spot it, but it seemed to be steel, with its usual shine covered by immense amounts of scratches and dirt. Other than that, the warrior had no other armor on. Even the sword he had, a gladius, pulling it out from his belt, was dirty beyond belief, dried blood still sticking on it and covering almost the entirety of its silver shine it could have. Lazily, he spun his weapon around, moving his well toned and scarred arms as if he tried to loosen up his own shoulders. At the same time, the brown cloak he wore fluttered in the wind, the currents caused by his own movements.

The Chimera spotted him in an instance. Breaking the ground underneath it, it created a dust cloud as it leaped for its new enemy. Already Ritsuka could tell, from his years of experience, that this would be over a blink of an eye. One moment, the jaw of the beast was about to bite into the jugular of the new arrival. The next moment, he could only see a blur... before the Chimera exploded against the ground, its blood and flesh flying all over the place. He could taste the magical energy that was released in that split second. As the crowd cheered, most of it being the non drugged soldiers, he gulped nervously.

The man was already at the end of his swing, seemingly having reared back his arm before smashing it down from above. And during all that, his facial expression didn't change from being utterly bored. Which spoke volumes of how much this guy probably held back. Ritsuka couldn't help but sigh. Why couldn't he get more weaker servants as enemies? In some form, Nero agreed with his sentiment, as she nervously laughed, shaking her head a bit.

"Mana Burst." She crossed her arms, biting her lip. "So the last one is Saber of Cologne then."

Ritsuka had to wince at that. That wasn't a skill he ever wanted to face. He'd seen plenty of times how Mordred and every version of Artoria could tip the scales and keep up with even more powerful opponents with that ability. To infuse magical energy into their body and weapons, just to make it explode violently for maximum force. Suffice to say, it was a powerful skill that belonged to the Welsh Dragon of Camelot and their spawn. To see it on this enemy, who wasn't even a Saber-face... Who was he?

"I'm stating the obvious, but he's dangerous. I won't be able to take him head on." The master turned his head to Nero, who shook her head with a wry smile. "I'm not even certain I could take him head on with help."

"That bad?" He asked. She in turn merely sighed in exasperation.

"I may not be a fighter but I believe I have still a good eye." She twirled her hand at him as she leaned forward, her palm underneath her chin. "Considering his allies he has... this will be tough unless we can find your servants."

He blinked as he tuned out the arena and the Saber within it. His servants? She sounded so certain, like it was a matter of fact she said as a side note. Did that mean she met them? Unable to hold back his excitement, he leaned closer in with a smile.

"They're here?"

"Umu, I believe so," Nero replied, nodding with confidence. Then with a casual shrug, she crossed her legs. "If not, we might have a bit of an-"

Suddenly, she stopped, her smile falling as her eyes went wide. Ritsuka pressed his lips together. He knew this feeling. The feeling of a predator staring at their prey. He, as a normal human, was a natural target for those that ascended to the Throne of Heroes. Because of that, he wished that he didn't follow Nero's gaze to confirm his fear. A nervous chuckle escaped him when he looked into the yellow eyes, now filled with annoyance on top of the boredom.

Memo to self, pay more attention to the surroundings.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Noble Shine

"I'm impressed! Most humans would've thrown up or lost consciousness at the speed I was moving!"

"Hurray for experience... "

Ritsuka groaned as he rubbed his neck a bit, taking deep breaths to calm his beating heart. Even as he said that, he leaned against the wall as they hid in yet another alleyway with a small scoff. At the same time, Nero pressed her back against the wall, keeping a lookout at the open streets, overflowing with soldiers actively searching for them.

Seriously, he could never get used to a servant's speed. A part of him was surprised he never suffered from any serious whiplash yet. Still, cracking his neck a bit, he couldn't help but blush a bit. Yet again, after being spotted and having to escape, he was carried away like a princess. He understood that it was necessary, the second the Saber of Cologne spat to the ground, whistled and pointed at their direction, with the mass of enemies surging from the seats and the exits towards them immediately after. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes as they hid in the darkness. Why didn't Saber chase after them as well? Once he gave the order, he just let out another sigh and left. Could it be that he let them escape? Or was it the arrogance of someone who knew who was stronger and didn't bother? Ritsuka clicked his tongue. There were so many ways this could go and he had been "burned" too many times by plots he didn't see coming ahead of time. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. All he knew was that Saber of Cologne was apparently... expecting him. There was no surprise in his eyes. Only recognition. Which meant the enemy could be fully aware of him and Chaldea.

"Well then. Only one enemy left to learn about."

Ritsuka looked up, interrupted in his thoughts when Nero smiled at him, raising her finger as she kept an eye at the enemy's movement. Frowning, he straightened up his back and pulled the hood back on his head.

"We're still investigating?" He asked quietly, twirling his hand as some soldiers left the area in front of their alley. "With all of that going on?"

"Umu!" The servant nodded with confidence. "Now that the enemy knows the two of us exist, we're fighting against time. We have to act while we still can." Snapping her fingers, she winked at him- "And that means finding out the identity of the Emperor!"

Well, it wouldn't be Nero without that self confidence. It sounded rather risky, if he had to be honest, but what choice did they really have? They couldn't just run around aimlessly in the hope of finding his servants from Chaldea. Better to use that time productively and hope that whatever chaos he'll inevitably cause will attract them.

"Alright, so how do we find the Emperor?" He tilted his head as he crossed his arms. "You told me they never show their face."

"To the public," she corrected him and grinned as she threw her thumb over her shoulder. "But there are more layers to this place."

"What do you mean?"

Nero glanced behind her, chuckling lightly.

"The Nobility."

/

"There's an intruder!"

"Chase them down! Archers, get in position!"

"No mercy, all forces to the front! For the Emperor!"

Well, whatever Nero was doing in the front worked wonders, if the screams and explosions were anything to go by. When it came to getting attention, her skill was still second to none, he thought wryly as he had his back pressed against the wall, letting the flow of soldiers pass him. It took them a while to reach it, but this mansion East to the Colosseum, located at the coast, was rather easy to sneak in. Plenty of ebony white balconies to climb up on this massive mansion and all the Spartan training, metaphorical and literal, paid off when he climbed up to the second level once Nero did her thing. Now all he had to do was wait until they thinned out enough.

"It's been five minutes... "

That was the minimum amount of time they agreed on for him to wait. The time needed to gain as much attention as possible for Nero. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and quickly stalked his way down the hallways. It was decorated with so much rich people stuff like golden accessory, paintings and what not that part of Ritsuka could sympathize with the thought of "eating the rich". But that was neither now nor later. For now, he was tense as he looked around, his eyes frantically moving around to keep his surroundings in his view. He wasn't the best in terms of stealth. All he had was what he managed to steal from his assassins. Their way of breathing, the way their soles touched the ground. It was not remotely like the real deal but it did the job.

Ritsuka licked his lips. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to find in the first place. Find a lone noble and get him to talk? Some documents lying around that happened to have the Emperor's information on it?

"When in Rome... " He muttered to himself, before stopping in front of a rather wide door. Was this a smart idea? Probably not. Was he a smart man? Seven Singularities and many other events said no. Did he still live despite those things?

Yes.

Because of that, he barely hesitated when he opened the doors, just to see it filled with nobles. He couldn't help but blink at that. That didn't last long. Pompous silk outfits. Rings made out of expensive jewelry and metals. Tables filled with the most exquisite of wine. The textbook definition of nobles, not only the Roman ones. While mostly German, there were people of all countries present, wearing the same togas one would think of an empire like this. However... He could spot it in a moment. Narrowing his eyes, he bit his lip.

They were exactly the same. Foggy eyes. Dazed and confused movements. Words that were more slurred than spoken. They most likely weren't even aware what they were talking about. Ritsuka clicked his tongue as he entered the room. There was no way he could get any information from these peo-

A clap and the door closed shut. His body immediately froze up, his eyes wide as he snapped his head to it. Then more, slow and almost demeaning claps followed. He looked around, fully realizing he walked straight into a trap. Damn it, he thought with a click of his tongue, without Mash and Da Vinci he had practically zero impulse control in these missions! Slowly but surely, the claps became louder as heels stepping on the floor made themselves known. Then a small group of nobles parted, like the sea did in front of Moses. Without a care, a woman with braids in her white hair stepped into his view, grabbing a chalice of wine from a table. Twirling it in her petite left hand, decorated with a few rings, she smiled condescendingly before sitting down on a chair that was promptly brought by one of the drugged victims. Crossing her legs, she leaned forward after taking a sip. Doing so caused the veil on her head to shift slightly and the rings attached to her . Not to mention it showed off her assets in her outfit that did not leave much to imagination in terms of arms, tummy, legs and other... assets. It was like two pieces of clothes had been crossed over, one time across her hip and the other time across her chest, with the latter being tied with a ribbon. It wasn't as bad as certain other servants, but with the respectable bust covered by a beautiful golden necklace and a ruby in it and smooth clean skin, Ritsuka couldn't say it left his face completely devoid of red color. Seeing his reaction, the woman chuckled, setting her chalice aside. Adjusting the bracelets around her wrists, she then brushed her hair back, causing the crescent shaped earrings to shake in the air a bit.

"Honestly, I would have expected you not to be so foolish, but apparently the Master of Chaldea survived on luck alone."

He grit his teeth. Ritsuka hated how he couldn't completely refute that statement. Taking a deep breath, he crossed his arms. No use antagonizing her right now, especially with being trapped like this. Frail as she looked, a servant was still a servant and could easily squeeze his eyeballs out if she wanted to.

"The Emperor, I guess?"

"Caster of Cologne, if that fits your taste more," she said, almost sounding exasperated at his tone. He couldn't help but blink at that. While he thought the title was boring, he was pretty sure he didn't let it reflect in his voice? Still, now was not the time to be weirded out. Spreading her arms out, her smile became almost motherly, but with a hint of wrongness to it. It wasn't like Raikou's smile, with her love being way too intense. It was like forcing the facial muscles to obey the command, a perfect act but an act nonetheless. Even her tone, despite sounding casual, had a certain commanding presence to it. "Now then, I shall accept your surrender."

For a moment, he was willing to do so. It was the smart thing to do after all. Nero was nowhere to be found, even if the sounds of combat were completely gone by now. He might summon shadow servants, but they would at most buy him some time against the real deal. Not to mention, he didn't want to die. Following the command was the easiest way to survive this. But the second he entertained a thought, a faint memory came up to the surface of his mind. A maniac laugh, filled with hate, but also determination echoed in his brain.

_"__Wait and hope!"_

He curled up his hands into fists. Giving up hope now would be to spit on all the things he managed to achieve up until now. Bending over and surrendering wouldn't help. He just had to keep moving forward, as always. With that in mind, he took a deep breath. Instead of flat out refusing however, he just narrowed his eyes and gestured at the room. More specifically the people within it, unaware of the threat the Caster presented to them as they quietly conversed and laughed like drunk people.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked. A part of him immensely enjoyed the utter confusion on her face when he didn't bow down to her. Without missing a beat, he carried on. "Why drug all of these people?"

As shocked as she might have been, she licked her lips with a light chuckle. Tilting her head, she put her chin on the top of her hands, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you not feed animals certain food to keep them in check?"

Ritsuka's eyes widened at the words. No matter how many times it happened or how much he understood that some people were like that, only one question sounded in his head: Was she serious? Seeing her sigh, as if she was talking to a particular stupid child, she apparently was.

"To control their growth." Dramatically, she put her hand on her chest, closing her eyes. "Only by refining them, they shall be worthy for someone like me."

"Are you planning to sacrifice all of those people?!" He shouted, his anger boiling up in his chest. "Is that the plan of the Demon Pillar?!"

It had to be, right? He wasn't exactly sure what for, but trying to kill everyone in this place sounded like something a Demon Pillar would come up with. It was about as screwed up as throwing a meteor at Shinjuku for example.

"I suppose I could explain it to you... " Caster of Cologne mused. Then she snapped her fingers at him, a dark laugh escaping her as she looked down at him as if he was trash. "But I am not in the mood for it. Just know that their deaths shall have meaning."

Immediately, the doors slammed open as Ritsuka cursed the woman. Damn it, why wasn't she monologuing more?! Servants liked to do that, right?! Instead, she used this time to call in her guards, brandishing their weapons at him, while a few others were getting the nobles out. Growling, Ritsuka raised his arms and spread his legs, ready to fight for his life. But before anyone could act, not the soldiers with their weapons, not him with his command seals glowing nor the Caster drinking from her chalice, a loud crash sounded in the mansion, shaking its foundation. Everyone looked around in confusion. The master of Chaldea widened his eyes, a familiar tingle running down his skin. Immediately, he ducked, covering his neck with his hands.

The next instance, the wall pointing towards the colosseum got utterly destroyed. Dust exploded at them and coughing filled the area completely. Rubbing his eyes, Ritsuka squinted, a smile forming on his face. Three silhouettes were present in the dust. One by one, they stepped through.

"Told ya, follow the explosions and that's where Master is!" The white knight with her horned helmet shouted gleefully, her female voice echoing due to her equipment. She glanced at her companions, her weapon touching her shoulder a few times. In response, the Japanese girl, dressed in a green haori and a skirt that revealed her thighs pouted at the comment.

"Hey, I came up with that idea first!"

Lastly, the man with the long flowing brown hair held his sword in front of his bronze armor, eyes focused at the enemies.

"Ladies, now is not the time."

Would you look at that, the inevitable chaos did attract them! Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh proudly at himself at that thought. Now the team was all together!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Restless Retreat**

The shock lasted only for a moment, as long as it felt for Ritsuka. The soldiers, eyes wide and sweating with fear, only took one glance at their own leader before courage returned to them.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Immediately, they went into formation as time slowed down for him. Three fourths of the entire room moved to gather around her. Shields were held up like a wall, spears and arrows were raised, ready to fight. At the same time, some of them moved at him, brandishing their weapons as well. Clicking his tongue, he shot up and dashed towards his servants. However, his ears picked up a familiar noise. It was like the words of a person were recorded and fast forwarded by multiple times its normal speed. Turning his head, painfully slow for the scenario, he spotted Caster's mouth blur behind her wall of soldiers. At the same time, he could feel the build up of magic, working unbelievably fast. His eyes widened in shock.

High Speed Incantation.

Without hesitation, both Mordred and George dashed forward at the same time, the former turning her head back a little bit with a snarl.

"Oi, Okita, stay back!"

"No need to tell me twice!" The girl shouted, turning her back to them and holding her katana high, the handle next to her head as she put her fingers on the side of its point, exhaling slowly. Then the next instance, he felt himself get picked up by strong arms. Flung over the shoulder, Ritsuka laughed lightly as George immediately backed off with him, his sword swinging against the arrows aimed at them.

"Excuse me, master!" The saint shouted, causing the master to shake his head.

"Man, you guys have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

He knew himself and his chances after all. A few random "mooks"? Alright, he could deal with that. An actual servant being there? Shadow servants or not, he'd be dead. Case in point, Mordred crashing against the shield wall and already carving them up with a loud scream and a wide sideways swing. It was actually impressive they managed to block it a bit, with only losing a couple of men. Of course then she swung her sword again. Only the spears and arrows that were fired at her stopped her at attacking wildly with no heed of her own self being. Weak as it appeared, the resistance bought time, even if it were just seconds.

And seconds were eternity when it came to Heroic Spirits.

Caster of Cologne raised her hand, her face splitting into a arrogant grin. Then she shot her hand down, casting a magic circle in the air. Immediately, a deep purple cloud rapidly expanded in front of her soldiers. Mordred's eyes widened before backing off, covering her mouth as she did so. Ritsuka gaped when the cloud touched the pure marble ground that was actually being eaten away at by it.

"Poison." The Knight clicked her tongue as she glared at the enemy, before swinging her sword to block the arrows that somehow got through the magic attack. "Fuck, brings up bad memories."

A part of Ritsuka wondered why she didn't simply used her Noble Phantasm to clear the poison, instead of starting to dart around in order to find an opening and dodge further poison blasts by Caster of Cologne. But then he realized the shadows hidden behind the deadly mist.

The nobles. They were just as innocent as the people on the streets. Poisoned and drugged for Caster's entertainment. Mordred couldn't use Clarent Blood Arthur, unless she was willing to kill these people as well. Naturally, as crude as she was, she was unwilling to do so, as she bit her lip in frustration. Deaths mattered in Singularities after all and it was against Chaldea's ideals. He made sure to remember King Gilgamesh's words from Babylonia. Everything he did mattered. Nothing would be reset entirely.

Which proved to make this situation pretty damn difficult, Ritsuka thought with a frown. The space was too narrow and there was too much chance for collateral for them to fight in here. He made up his mind, as George carried him next to Okita, who just cut down four soldiers with her trademark swift footwork. Turning to him, the girl smiled brightly and patted him on the shoulder, the deadly killer disappearing instantly, to be replaced by this happy go lucky girl.

"Hey, master! You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Turning his head a bit, he took a deep breath, before shouting with all of his might. "Mordred, let's go!"

Her ears twitched as her face remained at the front. But he could see in his mind how her expression would look like. Eyes wide. Then a click of her tongue, as she smashed the ground in front of her, causing the wall to fall back and hit some of the soldiers with the debris. Then she turned her head slightly, fletching her teeth as she smacked a poison ball from the air as she leaped to the left.

"You kiddin' me?! That bitch is right there!"

Sometimes Ritsuka hated dealing with the hot blooded ones. It always took so much convincing to get them to leave a battle, especially once they were inside their "flow". Not that he could blame her, he wasn't exactly that different either. Once there was a chance, one wanted to take it. However, right now, his instincts were screaming at him to get out of there now.

The next moment proved him right. He was not the best at detecting magic, but when two servants gave not a single damn about hiding their presence as they rushed towards their position, it was very noticeable. Two more servants, enemies most likely. Add Caster to the mix and their numbers would be equal. Which was bad, as they were on her terms right now.

The servants of Chaldea realized that as well, with their eyes wide. Mordred snarled, spitting to the ground before turning on her heel.

"Fine!" With one loud crack, she dashed forward, with Okita and George right behind her, the latter holding Ritsuka in a strong grip. "Gogogogo!"

The air blurred around him and the force of it pushed against his face. He strained his ears, trying to figure out what was going on with the speed they were going. Left turn, jump, down, right turn, he felt like he was being thrown around in a maze. All he could see where the vague shapes of the buildings as they escaped to the open street, passing by the people.

"They're right behind us!" Okita screamed, before letting out a yelp with a clank of metal sounding.

"No shit!" Mordred's voice suddenly hitched in surprise. "What the…?!"

"What's going on?!" Ritsuka yelled and Okita shrugged as she ran beside him, a nervous smile on her face.

"Something good, I think!"

All of a sudden, they took a turn and then just... stopped. The whiplash almost caused Ritsuka to hurl but he covered his mouth and took deep breaths. Blinking, he looked up as George let him down. For some reason, the air seemed to be distorted in that alley entrance they were at. He opened his mouth, about to ask what the heck that was, when a smug laughter interrupted him.

"Fancy meeting you here!"

Snapping his head back, he smiled brightly when he saw the familiar red dress.

"Nero! You're alright!"

The Roman Emperor laughed, putting her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest with pride.

"Umu! Mere soldiers can't stop this emperor!" Before they could say anything more, she motioned for them to follow her. "Come on, to my hideout!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Taking A Breather**

Having a base like this reminded Ritsuka of Babylonia and London in a sense. It felt homey, ancient, but still comfy. Red colors covered the cloth on the stone that made up the room. It may have been just a single room with a single bed, but even as a beginner like him, he could tell that this was a workshop, a place a magus would retreat for research and defense. As expected of Imperial Privilege, able to copy even the Territory Creation of Casters. Sitting on the bed offered to him, he supported himself with his arms as he looked at the others and leaned back.

The room they were in wasn't very well lit, barely any light peeking through the boarded up windows. Through the gaps, Mordred glared with her arms crossed, letting out a frustrated sigh. Okta, sitting on a wooden chair, hummed to herself as she maintained her sword with a piece of cloth. Not that she needed to, with being a spirit and all, but if that's how she killed time, Ritsuka was to judge. And last but not least…

George walked out with a plate in his hands, a polite smile directed at his master. Nero meanwhile strutting with confidence right behind him, smiling smugly as she had her hands on her hips.

"Here, master. You need to eat."

"And completely poison free!"

It was at that moment that Ritsuka's stomach grumbled. As the room began to chuckle at that, he blushed fiercely. Right, he hadn't eaten anything since he got here. Clapping his hands, he thanked them for the meal and began to dig into the meat with vegetables. It was rather well made, the brown sauce giving it a certain shine. While the taste wasn't modern gourmet standard, it was still great for his taste buds.

"Are you certain we are hidden in here?" Ritsuka's Rider asked, looking around with a skeptical eye. True enough, this didn't seem like the most secure place to hide in, given the actual cracks and dust on the stone. Instead of being insulted however, Nero merely waved her hand dismissively.

"Umu!" She spread her arms open. "After all, they didn't find us yet, right?"

Everyone else shared a small glance before shrugging and going back to what they were doing. Fair enough. Why stop a working system after all. However, since everyone was together now, Ritsuka knew the silence wouldn't last long. As he expected, George cleared his throat, gaining the attention of him and the other ladies around him. Mordred walked away from the wall, taking a chair and turning it around before plopping down. Okita merely sheathed her sword and looked at Nero standing in the middle like the others. With that done, the Rider lowered his head.

"You still have my gratitude for protecting our master during our absence. Even if you aren't the Nero we know of-"

Instantly, Mordred slammed her right foot on the ground, snarling as she leaned towards her fellow blonde.

"Bullshit, he'd be dead if we weren't there in time!"

The air became heavy immediately. Okita flinched while George narrowed his eyes in disapproval. While Ritsuka bit his lip, he glanced at the "victim" of the exclamation. However, he didn't see what he expected to see. Instead of acting in some theatrical manner, may it be some form of anger or casualness, Nero was strangely... cool. Her face was frozen in a mask of zero emotion, taking the wave of aggression from Mordred headon with seemingly not a single care in the world.

"I had faith in you and your master," she said calmly, shrugging nonchalantly which caused Mordred to bare her teeth. "Though I admit I didn't expect Caster to be just there and that the nobles were just as affected." Bowing her head, her regal like cool did not disappear at all as she closed her eyes. "Apparently only the soldiers aren't drugged. For that mistake of mine, I apologize."

"Oh, so it's just a tiny mistake that could've killed him."

Ritsuka decided that was enough. Before Mordred could act upon her own growling, he stood up, walked in front of the Roman servant and raised his right arm as he turned to his Saber.

"Don't blame Nero. I should've been more careful." He smiled at them. "All that matters is that we're together now, right?"

Mordred blinked at him before looking away with a scoff and a faint blush.

"Fine. But just this once!"

With that, the atmosphere became lighter again, enough so that Okita giggled and raised her arms in excitement.

"Now that we're here, it's gonna be easy! Team Chaldea is gonna do this!"

"I wish I shared your optimism." Despite his words, George shook his head with a smile, appearing more relaxed now. "We shouldn't underestimate the enemy."

"Speaking of enemy, it's time to share my wisdom!" Nero suddenly shouted and pulled out three pieces of paper out of... somewhere. Putting them on a nearby table, she leaned forward as she tapped her hand on the wood. "Gather around!"

Well, it was time to do the job then. With that in mind, Ritsuka put the plate away, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, before stepping at the table with the others. Everyone looked down as Nero cleared her throat.

"You all know who Caster is and what she was able to do, so I shall skip her."

"Any idea who she is?" The master asked, remembering how she seemed in charge. Not to mention a Caster was the most likely case to cause a change like this and the title of 'Emperor' was not exactly subtle. "She looked Roman to me."

"Hm, from your descriptions, it could be anyone. I'd need to see her in person to make sure," Nero hummed, tapping her chin in thought. Mordred scoffed, raising her eyebrow at her.

"What, ya sayin' we weren't specific enough?"

"Let's start with the most recent one. Saber of Cologne."

"Don't ignore me!"

Ignoring her shouting once more, everyone stared at the picture of the gruff looking man. Ritsuka had to admit this was a really good pencil drawing. The shadowing gave it a certain three dimensional touch to it. As expected of someone who was obsessed with culture back in her living days. It even had some small descriptions written underneath. Okita was the first to finish, pressing her lips together.

"Mana Burst... Guh, I hate when they have that."

"It is a difficult skill to face," George agreed, but the only user in the room laughed lightly with pride.

"Pah, you tell me!" She glanced at the artist with a raised eyebrow. "He strong?"

"Very. From my observations, he was holding back a lot. Not to mention we didn't see his Noble Phantasm either." She twirled her hand at the picture. "The sword didn't give the same aura as one would."

Ritsuka nodded. It felt too... impure and unrefined to be the pinnacle and culmination of a servant's legend. It was probably a backup weapon, barely able to reach the SAber's standards. Which left some pretty concerning implications in his head, he thought with a frown. Scratching the back of his head, he turned to Mordred, seeing her as the strongest of their group. Mentally comparing her feats with the gut feeling he had when seeing Saber of Cologne... he couldn't help but voice his concerns.

"If Mordred were to fight him alone... I wouldn't be sure who would win."

Okita and George's eyes widened in shock. By now, they've been in enough battles to gauge the abilities of the servants summoned by Chaldea. And Mordred? Mordred could fight individuals like Siegfried and Artoria with a solid track record. In Ritsuka's honest opinion, that put her quite high on the direct combat ladder. Suffice to say, the knight in question had a feral grin as she leaned back, arms crossed.

"Hoh? Callin' dibs then!"

Hotblooded as ever. Rubbing his forehead, he sighed.

"If we're forced into one versus one, sure, but I'd-"

"Fight together, yeah yeah," she waved him off before motioning with her head at the rest of the papers. "Who else is there?"

Nero proceeded to point at the next and final male. In comparison to Saber of Cologne, this one looked young. Almost too young. A bright face with not a speck of facial hair. Darkish short hair that was kept above neck level. Something that seemed like a black t-shirt over a regular shirt, ordained with some rather fancy, light colored symbols on it. Overall, a nice looking person actually, with that smile. But something about that smile seemed...familiar, Ritsuka thought with a frown. And with familiar he meant 'unhinged'. He'd seen it plenty of times on Berserkers. A class this one apparently shared, if the writing was correct.

"Berserker appears to be... rather sane for, well, being a Berserker. Still, he has quite the brute strength and appears to have animals, especially sheep, following him around. Though they didn't do anything yet."

The Chaldea team looked at each other at Nero's short explanation with flat expressions.

"Ten bucks saying he got EX-rank and is so crazy it loops back to bein' sane."

"Sucker's bet."

The two Chaldean Sabers smirked at each other before giving the other a high five. Nero blinked for a moment and tilted her head in confusion.

"I suppose you met a lot of Berserkers like that?"

Immediately, Ritsuka, Okita, George and Mordred didn't waste a single moment of counting their examples.

"Kiyohime."

"Raikou-san."

"Miss Nightingale."

"Spartacus."

"Pen-"

"Umu, I get the picture." Nero licked her lips before lowering her head. "My condolences."

"They're pretty nice once you get to know them," Ritsuka said in an awkward tone, scratching the back of his head. Just had to avoid their "trigger" and they were pretty charming individuals. Of course with an EX-Rank, they saw the trigger practically everywhere, but it was doable. The others didn't have as much faith as he did, raising an eyebrow at him. In the end, Okita shook her head, muttering something to herself.

"...rem."

"What?"

"Nothing~!" She sang innocently. The master narrowed his eyes for a moment before letting it go. Questions for later. Nero nodded, happy that they could move on now and dramatically pointed at the last picture of hers.

"Aaanyway, last but not least, Assassin!"

Everyone leaned over the last picture, with different expectations. A Hassan? A martial artist? Maybe a poisoner of some sorts? Instead, they all just narrowed their eyes as they leaned down even more, as if that would make the picture make more sense. Instead, Ritsuka only raised his head, giving Nero an expression of disbelief.

"...They're wearing a hood."

"Yes," Nero said, for once actually looking nervous as she avoided his eyes, sweat running down her skin.

"We can't make out the face or hair or anything," Ritsuka said with a bit more force, pointing at the picture in question. Indeed, that was the textbook definition of 'not helpful'. Body completely covered, one couldn't even make out the gender of this hooded person. The only thing that could give away anything was the katana in their hands. Still, this was a lot less useful than the others for example. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms as he straightened up his back as the others did. "Didn't you tell me you saw her?"

"I did!" Nero shouted before touching the tips of her index fingers with a sheepish expression. "I just didn't... see much... "

"Wow."

Despite the red face at Mordred's flat voice, the Roman servant put up a smile as she put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest with a forced laugh.

"But! We know she uses a katana and is very good at killing people with only a scratch! That counts for something!"

"I suppose," George muttered, looking the most 'confident' among the Chaldean squad. Turning to the Japanese one, he rubbed his chin in thought. "Miss Okita, do you have any ideas?"

"Hmmmm... " She squinted at the paper, holding it so close to her face that her nose was touching it. In the end, she threw it away, shrugging helplessly. "Maybe? Some ideas here and there, but nothing substantial. Either way, just don't get cut."

"I was going to let them, but thanks for the advice."

Ignoring the sarcastic answer, Ritsuka licked his lips. Alright, so they had the intel. Kinda. Now it was time to plan. Usually at this point Da Vinci and Mash would give him a solid analysis and a pep talk respectively, thus giving him a better idea of what to do. But since the contact was still lost, somehow, he had to do this like he did in the Tower and Shimosa: Gut feeling and winging it. Thus, he said the first thing that he had in mind.

"I think we should head out. Try to catch them off guard on the streets."

"That sounds dangerous, master."

"Well, this stuff is dangerous and a passive game plays into their favor," Ritsuka responded to George. Turning to the 'local' servant, he pointed down at the ground. "Nero, can I count on you to hold the base?"

"Umu!"

Made the most sense after all. It was her workshop and would be the best at defending it... as long as the migraines didn't kick in. Those were really annoying to deal with sometimes. Considering those, he mulled over who else to leave behind. After a while, he came to a decision. Was it the best one? Probably not, but it sounded good enough in his head. With that in mind, he turned to one who was already bouncing in excitement.

"Okita, please stay here as well."

"Eeeeeh?!" With a whine, she shook her head and crossed her arms with a pout. "Master, don't be like that! This is my first time being in an actual, cool Singularity! I'm usually always stuck with Nobu all the time! It's my time to shine and not be just comic relief for onc-blaaargh!"

It meant something about how frequently it happened that he was completely unfazed as she coughed up blood, holding her mouth in order to keep most of it from dropping on the ground. Was it a smart idea to leave two servants back that had the occasional 'performance drop'? Probably not, but George as his shield and Mordred as his sword was the best set up in order to hunt down the enemy in his head. Not to mention, what were the odds the two of them would suffer from their own legends at the same time? Either way, Okita wiped her mouth, breathing slightly heavier than before. With a long suffering sigh, she lowered her head, eyes dropping like a kicked puppy.

"...Okay, I'll stay."

Now he just felt bad. Maybe he should get her a souvenir when he had the time. This place had souvenirs, right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Hidden In Plain Sight**

The throne room was one of the places that was irregular in this Roman Empire of hers. Not unexpected, as back in the ancient times, there didn't exist any throne rooms as such. Especially in this European style. No expenses were saved to make it as extravagant as possible. Vermillion red colors ordained with golden framing. Majestic chandeliers that illuminated the grand throne, equipped with the richest and most beautiful jewels. On top of that, her paintings that covered the walls as she sat upon her mark as a ruler, legs crossed and a satisfied smile. Yes. This was how it was supposed to be.

She covered her mouth as her smile widened when the doors were almost ripped apart by the force it was pushed by. Saber of Cologne stomped his way in, followed by a brown haired boy, their expressions more opposite to each other than humanly possible. The latter smiled nonchalantly, looking at everything with a sense of wonder. The former on the other hand gave her a death glare as he stopped right in front of the stairs leading up to her ascended position. Throwing his arms up in agitation he glanced around for a moment before spitting to the side.

"Where's Assassin, you dumb slut?"

If she were a lesser person she'd have lashed out. But instead, Caster just took a small breath. No need to be agitated by a barbarian like him. Twirling her hand casually, she tilted her head coyly.

"Oh, she is already on the move. As was agreed upon."

Saber's eyes widened for a moment before growling in distaste. Walking to one of the marble like pillars, he leaned against it, crossing his arms with a glare.

"So she really gets to be first? Tch."

She could see it. The indignation. The pride slighted. the wrath bubbling up. But with just a like chuckle and a few empty words of platitude, the boiling magma that was Saber's emotions were chained down, buried in his heart. For all his bark, he was the type she loved to deal with. A stark contrast to the boy swinging his arm against a pillar with a childish face of disappointment. Suffice to say, the stone cracked and Caster barely kept her tongue from clicking against her own flesh.

"Ehhhh, that's unfair!" He pouted, stomping on the ground and creating even more cracks in her nice clean throne room. "Maybe they're like him! If so, I gotta give them what they need!"

"Patience," she said with forced calm, sending a small clare at the smug grin Saber sent her way. He loved when she had difficulties. Not like their little 'alliance' was based on that foolish thing called trust anyway. Folding her hands, she took a deep breath. "We'll deal with them soon enough. After all, they are not even aware they're inside my web."

Unfortunately for her, her words didn't reach the Berserker. Instead of being affected by her words, he let out a whine, more unhinged and deranged as before. His eyes widened, a certain insanity in them as he threw his arm open, causing a blast of wind in the room. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Saber was ready to take out his sword, his real sword, with more anticipation that she liked.

"But I want to go now!" His voice became a growl, like the animal he was. "I need to go now!"

She hated the insane ones, she thought as she slightly sweat nervously. Harder to manipulate. It was like controlling a rabid beast. They would do only one thing and one thing only but it was near impossible to dissuade them. All she could do was divert his attention to the best of her abilities. With that in mind, she sighed and put up her motherly smile she had used so many times in her life. It was just as fake as always. Plan B it was then.

"Ten minutes, my dear. Then you can go to this location."

The murderous aura didn't disappear, even with the bright smile as he jumped up and down like a child. It never did. But as always, it didn't feel like it was directed at her anymore. Which was all she needed. She relaxed slightly more as he sang while dancing out of the room. The moment he did, Saber pushed himself off the pillar and threw his thumb over his shoulder with a snarl.

"Why the fuck does he get to go and not me?"

"Because he's insane and you actually have self control?" She asked sarcastically before shaking her head. "You will get your vindication soon enough. For now…" She rested her chin on her hand as she leaned forward. "Let them have their fun. You would destroy our enemies too fast to enjoy."

"Pah. Better get me into that shit or you're dead."

With those words, he left but not before dirtying her throne room with another spit. Once the doors closed, she exhaled slowly, her eyes slightly narrowed in frustration. They were potent. Strong, even. But gods above, they were terrible to use. Always having to mind her words. In her life, she only had to deal with such types once or twice. Sometimes she wished she was given easier tools to use. Alas, an Emperor had to deal with the plebeians she was given, not the ones she wanted. With that in mind, she closed her eyes after rolling her shoulders. Time to get back to work.

/

"Sooo, what have you guys been up to while we're separated?"

While he was aware they were in enemy territory and could be attacked at any time, the silence between them was unbearable for Ritsuka. Especially considering how they walked among a mass of people that were higher than the cloud themselves and thus, if they made any noises at all, sounded very very disturbing. On the other hand they could hide between them to avoid the watchmen on the sides of the street and even the rooftops, not remotely drugged in comparison. Still, he needed to do some conversation. Ritsuka was a social creature after all.

"Analyzing the situation while keeping our presence low, master," George replied with a small smile, shadowed by the hood they were all wearing. Yet his eyes kept wandering around, taking his job very seriously. Mordred on the other hand seemed very relaxed, with her arms crossed behind her head, looking around rather bored. Thankfully with the experience he had with her, he could tell she was just as alert as his Rider right now, even with the easy going smirk on her face.

"I wanted to bust some heads with Okita, but George here said no."

Ritsuka sent George an amused smile as the latter shook his head in exasperation. Shrugging, the master sent the two of them a small grin.

"Someone has to be our self control here I guess."

The trio shared a small laugh, while making sure they weren't too obvious. The master sighed as he looked around. Sometimes he wished he could see such sights in situations when the world was not at stake for once. Once one got past all the drugged people and the fact that this was a Singularity, this place had a certain charm to it. While not the "capital" that was Septem, it was still a sight to behold. Maybe this was how the settlements looked like outside the center of the Roman Empire? Something to ask Nero or the others about when he had time. With a small laugh, he lightly elbowed his Rider, who raised his eyebrow at him.

"Too bad you don't have your camera, huh, George?"

For a moment, the saint blinked. Then, to Ritsuka's surprise, he frowned as he looked around.

"I wouldn't make any photos even if I did." He sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "This place feels... too fake."

"It's a Singularity, of course it's-"

George interrupted his fellow knight with a shake of his head.

"Not like that. While this isn't the proper human history, even places like Shinjuku had a certain... substance to them. The people in there were alive, even if twisted." He twirled his hands at his surroundings, eyes narrowed. "But this... this feels... forced. Desperate to exist with any means necessary. Thus all of those people."

Ritsuka hummed in thought. Sure enough, when he really looked at it... this "empire" lacked substance. There just missed that factor of randomness, of culture spawning out of nowhere. The lack of will in the people didn't help at all. Oh, they were diverse themselves. Some had hoods on like him. Some with darker skin, some bald, there was even a Japanese albino walking past him. Yet, as George said, it didn't feel natural at al-

"SHIT!"

He had no idea what exactly happened in that split second. He heard Mordred's scream right when metal screeched in the air. The world turned and shifted around him after something sweeped his legs away. A loud clash sounded between steel. As the world stabilized around him, he was pulled up by George who had his sword out, with an expression of absolute focus. Mordred on the other hand barred her teeth, awkwardly holding Clarent due to the narrow space created by the mass of people around them.

"What just-"

"Assassin!" The saint barked out to answer his question, before pulling Ritsuka behind him at his shoulder, raising his right arm at the same time. Sparks were created as Ascalon met the katana, parrying it away. In that instance, as the master was between Saber and Rider, he spotted their attacker. It was the Japanese albino from earlier. Her hood fluttered away a long time ago, revealing her scarlet red eyes behind a few strands of her white ponytail. The most unusual about her was not her pale complexion however, but the red tint at the end of her hair, as if it was tipped into blood a long time ago. The woman, and it was a woman, he could see the moderate curves, clicked her tongue in annoyance, before she vanished behind the crowd just as Mordred stabbed Clarent at her through George's right side of his head.

Ritsuka began to sweat as they started to push through the people. This was the worst place to fight at the moment. There was just not enough room to maneuver. That the Assassin was very fast, judging from the blurs that started to appear from all their sides didn't help. It spoke of precision and speed. Only at times he could see her sheathe her sword in her scabbard, attached to her short sleeved black kimono with a silver sash. Iaijustsu then.

"This is... concerning," George suddenly muttered before having to lean back before his forehead could be cut open.

"No shit!" Mordred shouted, grabbing Ritsuka by his hair and pushing him down, ducking with him underneath a crescent cut that was about to cut their heads off. "That's cheating!"

"What is?!" The master shouted. Were they talking about Assassin's speed and agility, evident by the way she didn't even need two seconds to go from one side to another despite the people in the way.

"We can't sense her:" Rituka's eyes widened at George's words. "She doesn't-" He swatted a downwards swing with the back of his left gauntlet. "She doesn't stick out to us!"

That... that didn't make any sense. No matter how high the rank was, once one attacked, Presence Concealment should drop considerably. Not even King Hassan was exempt from that rule. As if hearing his thoughts, Mordred snarled as she put her arm through a gap between the people and shoved them aside. Only her instincts were the reason she could pull her arm back as cold steel was about to cut into her armor and maybe even into her flesh.

"I know how that shit usually works, but right no-" Ritsuka's Saber grabbed the blade between her gauntlet, snarling as she just broke it in her arm and was about to swing down with Clarent. About to, because she hesitated for just a moment, enough for the black and white phantom to snake her way through five people in that time. Throwing the shards on the ground, Mordred almost seemed to let out literal steam through her mouth. "FUCK! Is there a damn festival going on or what?! Where the fuck are you?!"

As a response, a new but slightly shorter Japanese blade tried to gouge her eyes out, which Mordred barely evaded with a tilt of her head. Once again, George had to pull Ritsuka at his collar and pull him down to dodge the side swing after the first stab failed. By now, the living human was starting to freak out. Quite frankly. Ritsuka had the feeling they would be dead ten times over if it weren't for Mordred's instincts and George's excellent performance as a defender with similar, if weaker, instincts. But even that had its limits. The enemy was starting to actively push people at them now, distracting the two of them even more. Given that neither of them actually wanted to kill people, this was practically a worst case scenario. From the top of his head, Ritsuka could not remember people being used against him like this. With that in mind, he came to a decision, as he was pushed back as George had to step back, barely able to shove Ascalon between his neck and the katana aiming for it.

"We're not getting anywhere! The longer this goes on, the more likely it is we'll slip! We have to go!"

The moment he shouted that order, the two knights nodded in agreement. Without hesitation, Mordred grabbed Ritsuka around his waist and jumped up to the sky, closely followed by George. Already, he could breathe more freely, not being cornered by innocent people. Jumping away from them felt liberating…

Up until the moment they landed on the rooftop. The rooftop manned by soldiers. Who were all ready to shoot their arrows at their faces. George's eyes were wide, Mordred clicked her tongue, and Ritsuka? He just had a flat expression on his face. Out of the fire and into the frying pan or whatever the saying was.

"Oh, goodie."

"FIRE!"

One could say whatever they wanted, they were really well trained. Like one body, one mind, they let loose at the same time. Fortunately for Ritsuka, arrows were nothing compared to the blade trying to take his life. Mordred's arms blurred with George's as they stood in front of him, blocking the arrows with much less strain than before, relishing the free room they now had.

"Master, fight or flee?" The saint asked under fire and Mordred showed him a feral grin.

"I'm for fighting!"

He could understand the sentiment, but he already had a bad enough feeling in his gut. As much as it pained him, he shook his head and threw his thumb over his shoulder.

"Assassin could get reinforcements! This is getting too hot!"

"Fair enough!" Mordred shouted, with just a hint of a disapproving growl.

Ritsuka sighed in relief, glad he didn't have to argue before he tensed his neck. Moments later, he rubbed his head, feeling a bit dizzy at the speed they were going. Yet again, a back alley, his most frequent ally in this mess. Looking up, he could see the frustration on both of his servants. With a scoff, he smiled wryly.

"Well, that could've gone better."

"At least the Assassin is gone." George sighed and shook his head. "It was getting close."

That was putting it lightly, he thought wryly. The master of Chaldea took a deep breath. Alright, this could've gone better. But if one failure was enough to discourage him, he'd be dead a long time ago. With that in mind, he clapped his hands together and pointed at his servants.

"So. Net positives?"

"We know she got a C-Rank. Could still feel her, just that it was identical to normal people," Mordred explained before shaking her head as she raised her hands in surrender, giving up on making sense of that. "And that shit doesn't turn off. Somehow."

Some special personal skill or a Noble Phantasm even. Useless in open spaces, but an Assassin would never want to be one in the first place. Great. Just what he needed next to a potential Artoria-class Saber and a Caster with a fetish for poison. George put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly with a smile.

"We also know how she looks like. We got a lot of-"

The good mood that was barely built up crashed down like a deck of cards when they heard an explosive crash from the distance. And Ritsuka knew for a fact what was in that reaction. Not even bothering to look at the rising smoke, he threw his arms in the air in agitation.

"Oh, come on!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Devastated Home**

She coughed up blood once again, her hands barely preventing it from spilling all over the place. But in a rare twist of fate, she was glad for it. More specifically, that it only occured now and not during the battle that just occured. Wiping her mouth, she tried to calm her breath. Really, today was just not her day. One moment she was making herself a nice cup of tea while Nero was taking a nap, the next moment the wall were kicked in and the dust ruined her drink. Talk about bad luck. Was this karma for being outside a comedy setting for once? If it was, she was totally going to stab Nobu for it, because it had to be her karma, right? Okita lived a life of pure goodness after all unlike the Demon Lord.

"Nero-san, are you alright?" She asked, coughing a bit as she rolled her shoulders. The Roman servant rubbed her head before spitting out a feather out of her mouth. Okita had to wince at the sight. While she personally was a bit too busy to see how her fellow Saber fared, she saw the mass of animals attacking them. Suffice to say, servants like Lobo were going to be awful reminders of this mission.

"I will never look at doves the same way, but yes," Nero muttered before sighing at the sight in front of them. It was not the prettiest base but the Shinsengumi captain felt it was homey enough. But now, it was nothing but ruins. It was just a question of time until soldiers would arrive, picking up the slack for Berserker's sudden disappearance. Apparently Caster of Cologne wanted to play her games with them instead of finishing them off. Okita grit her teeth at the thought. That would be her greatest mistake.

"Okita! Nero! You guys alright?"

Immediately, she brightened up at the sound of her master. Turning around, she poked her own cheeks with peace signs as she put up a wide grin.

"Peachy~!" She sang. Then she blinked, taking a better look at Ritsuka and the two servants that accompanied him. They seemed rather exhausted, what with the sweat and the hint of nervousness radiating from them. Seemed like they also had to deal with issues, Okita thought dryly.

"Except for our base," Nero commented, throwing her thumb over her shoulder before puffing up her cheeks in anger as she stomped on the ground. "And I put so much effort into this!"

"What the heck happened here?" Mordred asked, cracking her neck as she frowned at their surroundings.

"We got attacked by Berserker." Okita grinned as she nodded to herself. "Upside, we know what we're dealing with!"

With that, she began to explain what happened.

The dark green eyes man whose strength was beyond what his frame implied. The only times Okita's arms shook after each blow that was blocked was with someone like Artoria. Maybe even beyond that. But if it were just mere brute force, she wouldn't have had such an issue. No, there were two aspects that made Berserker a dangerous opponent. One, he could absorb the magical energy from the ground, or specifically, the workshop they were in. It was like someone popped a balloon. No matter what Nero tried, with the time given to her according to the Roman servant, the energy kept being sucked away. So playing the long game was out already.

Then there were the animals accompanying him. Though it would be more accurate to call them his monsters. Regular animals you could find on the street, like doves, cats and dogs, pulsating with rage and anger, as if they were affected by Mad Enhancement as well. Worst of all, Berserker had perfect control over them. So not only did they, or rather she, had to deal with a physical monster, they, or rather Nero, was swarmed with animals. They weren't that threatening on her own, but there was a reason the Roman emperor had to spit out more than one feather up until now.

"I have no idea who that could be," Okita said as she finished her story, facing the somber faces of her allies. She shook her head, holding her hands up with a sigh. "I don't know any deranged murderers with an animal motif." She paused and twirled her right hand at them. "Except that one Snow White from that parody with the green ogre."

"She killed someone?" Ritsuka asked, raising an eyebrow at that. She hummed in thought as she tapped her lips. She could've sworn some died when she sicced the animals on her opponent. In the end, she shrugged nonchalantly.

"I think she might have."

"Focus," George chided them, causing the two culprits to lower their heads with a pout. Crossing his arms, he frowned. "Are you certain?"

"Well, he acted like killing us was the greatest gift ever," Okita replied, scratching the back of her head before nodding. "So yup. No room for negotiations."

Their master sighed, sitting down on a piece of debris. The Japanese servant patted his back with pity. After all, she knew that this man could make friends with everyone... but most of the time, he had to beat servants up first with Chaldea as a proxy before summoning them himself. Yet again, a chance for solving things with just talking vanished from his grasp. But that only made him more cute in her eyes. Anyway, Nero cleared her throat and pointed at the three who went on patrol.

"I suppose your day didn't go as planned as well?"

"We met Assassin," George said in an even tone, but even he frowned. It was nothing compared to Mordred's expression, showing her teeth as she growled at the memory.

"Really annoying Assassin."

Then they started to describe their encounter. However, something in Okita awakened when hearing the story. The fighting style. The appearance. All of it tickled the back of her metaphorical mind. She pouted, crossing her arms as she furrowed her forehead in thought. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she had a feeling she knew-

White hair with a tint of red.. Katana. Iaijutsu. Warning of death for their instincts. Mingling with the crowd. Her eyes widened as she put the mental image together. All of these details hit her like a truck, as the memories rushed into the forefront of her mind.

_-a dojo in which she and her companions trained for a bit, meeting the older beauty for the first time-_

_-a soft smile of her senior, patting her head after suffering defeat-_

_-news of her famous assassination, just a year before she would don the flag of the Shinsengumi-_

_-on her death bed, wondering how her friends are doing, the many faces passing her memory as her throat burns and her chest is killing her, news of the war passing her tired ears-_

"-aaaand that's what we got," Ritsuka finished, causing Okita to return to the living. The mood was rather down, but she was too busy staring at the ground, an expression of disbelief on her face. Could it really be? The hints were all there, but she would only be certain if they actually met. But her gut was telling her she was right. She looked up just as Mordred began to stomp on the ground in agitation, like a child throwing a tantrum.

"So, in summary, we got someone that can drain magical energy around him, got murder animals and is good at killing people! On top of that, we got a stupid assassin who doesn't lose her Presence Concealment even when she should! And we don't know their identi-"

"Gensai Kawakami."

The words left her mouth before she even recognized them. Everyone turned to her, eyes wide in shock. She blinked before licking her lips. Now that she said it out loud, it felt real now. The words, out in the open, just as her belief that it was really... her. Instead of being a trick of her mind, she vividly imagined the picture in front of her. It could only be her.

"What?" Mordred asked, staring at her in disbelief. Okita nodded slowly and couldn't help but smile softly at herself. Even if they were on opposite sides, even if they didn't know each other for long... she couldn't help but smile.

"The assassin you fought. If I'm right... that's her."

"The one who killed someone in broad daylight with a single strike?" Ritsuka asked, tilting his head. Okita couldn't help but blink in surprise. Weird. Normally he would have no idea about most heroic spirits. Maybe he read up on some stories? Their master crossed his arms with a frown. "Another person who was supposed to be male."

Okita couldn't help but giggle. Right. That was a thing that kept bothering him, wasn't it? She could merely shrug with a good natured smile.

"What can we say? Propaganda is a curious thing."

"Putting that aside, it explains the alarm bells in my head every time she was about to cut one of us." Mordred clicked her tongue as she twirled her hand in the air, leaning against the remnant of a wall. "Betcha' that's her Noble Phantasm."

"Instant death it is then. I cannot say I am much of a fan of that," George commented, going through the dust. Maybe he was looking for some supplies. Either way, Okita tapped the side of her head as she searched through her memory. One could say whatever they wanted about Gensai, but she managed to hide her presence well. Only one assassination confirmed made it hard to confirm her abilities. Still, there was plenty of information from the battles she participated in, even if it was just eye witnesses. With that in mind, she decided to share with the class.

"It has conditions, from what I managed to hear about her in my life."

"Anything we can do about?" Ritsuka asked, perking up a bit. She felt bad when she had to shake her head and see his shoulders slump.

"Only about one of them and that's not fighting her during the day."

"Figures," he muttered.

"On top of that, her style focuses on extremely potent and fast first strikes. She's at her most optimal if she starts the fight with the intent of finishing it at the same time."

"So how could she spam it?" Mordred asked, glancing at Nero who began helping George in searching through the dust with a frown. Then she glanced back at Ritsuka, who nodded in confirmation. "She didn't let up at all in speed or power."

"She was good at escaping and blending in again." Okita hummed in thought before snapping her fingers. "Disengage?"

The knight merely snorted in disgust, shaking her head with an angry smirk. Nero and George joined them again, with only a handful of bags for Ritsuka. The former clapped her hands together before looking at the crowd.

"So. What now?" She frowned as she pointed at herself. "Apparently they have some way of tracking us and I don't know how long it'll take to make another base."

Before any of them could say anything, their master suddenly shot up, a confident smile on his face.

"I got an idea."

Okita bit her lip as she shared a worried glance with her fellow Chaldean servants. It was never a really good idea whenever their master smirked like that, like an evil overlord who was rubbing their hands.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: On The Offensive**

Two soldiers guarded the entrance to the great arena with bored expressions. It was a natural consequence, what with being responsible for a back door that most people didn't even use that much. One of them counted the tiles on a roof while the other was on the verge of passing out. Because of that, they immediately stood at attention when someone did come close to them. Or more specifically, five people, dressed just like them, despite their rather exotic features. Then again, this city was weird and the Emperor hired anyone from anywhere as long as they obeyed orders and were talented. Therefore the two guards raised their arms out of instinct, a motion that the blonde boy in front of the group mimicked with great enthusiasm.

"Ave, fellow countrymen!" He shouted in an high pitched voice with a bright smile. The two of them blinked, surprised that this one didn't even reach puberty yet. Before they could think about it more, the blonde put his hands on his hips, he nodded at them, ignoring their stares. "We're here to reinforce the interior!"

The guard shared a look with his fellow partner. Then his eyes widened, as he remembered. There was something about increasing security, wasn't there? Not the group he expected, as they all seemed way too young and somewhat exotic for this kind of job... but then again, who was he to question the Emperor's wisdom? With that in mind, he nodded as he tapped the ground with the bottom of his spear.

"Ah. Good. You know the path, right?"

"Path?"

The soldier frowned, narrowing his eyes at the black haired oriental boy, tilting his head in confusion. Typical new recruits, never knowing anything. Before he could open his mouth to chide him, one with a bigger frame stepped forward. He couldn't help but blink in surprise. Finally, someone who looked like a proper man. While also not having any facial hair, he at least exuded maturity as he pushed the recruit back with a small smile.

"Apologies, he wasn't paying attention. Yes, we are aware."

"Not the first time we're doing this," the other blonde muttered, looking more like a brute than the other, but still rather young. A street rat then. The guard nodded stepping aside like his partner. As the quintet passed through however, the last oriental boy (and what was with the number of young boys anyway), saluted at them one last time as he passed through.

"Praise the Emperor!"

With that, the two of them were alone again. The moment they couldn't hear their voices anymore, his partner turned to him, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.

"Do you know them?" He whispered, covering his mouth in case someone observed them. The guard rolled his eyes at his partner, before shrugging nonchalantly.

"I don't even know my neighbor, so who cares?"

/

"This has to be one of the dumbest ideas we ever came up with that somehow still works," Mordred muttered once they got past the first hurdle, tugging at her stolen helmet with a frown. Ritsuka frowned slightly, consciously pulling the helmet down a bit to cover his face more. This wasn't that bad of an idea, right? He certainly had worse. Pulling a page out of the Greek playbook and doing a Trojan Horse maneuver couldn't be considered dumb. Sure, there were a lot of differences but if it worked, it worked, right? Still, with a small pout, he crossed his arms as they stalked through the path lined with rock walls, making their way through the colosseum.

"So you disagree?" He asked in an offended tone. While the other three servants shared a look that screamed 'yes', Mordred let out a snort and waved her hand dismissively.

"Nope, did plenty of dumb ideas back in my living days and got away with it."

The master of Chaldea stared at her before closing his eyes with a wince. Poor Round Table Knights. They had his condolences. Couldn't have been easy with all the other issues they had. A tap on his shoulder and a throat being cleared got him out of his musings. Turning his head, he saw George smile at him before raising his finger to his mouth.

"Maybe we shouldn't push it too hard. Let's keep the comments to a minimum, shall we?"

"But where's the fun in that?" Okita whined before frowning at the leather at her chest, poking at it. "But really, it's kinda tight in this thing."

"Umu," Nero agreed, blissfully aware of the red face she and Okita caused Ritsuka. She tugged around at it, before sighing dramatically. "If I knew my soldiers suffered like that, I would've made it more spacious!"

While George shook his head in exasperation, the other male in the group couldn't help but give the knight of the round table a subtle side glance. Mordred blinked, immediately noticing it and tilted her head in complete confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing!

After his sudden shout, he turned his face forward, walking a bit stiff as they continued their march, chalking his shout to him being weird. If they noticed anything, they decided to ignore it. Meanwhile, Ritsuka took a deep breath. Alright. Mind back on the plan. Which was get disguises, walk in, kill a servant. Simple and open to improvisation. Just like Ritsuka liked it. Make a plan, execute the plan, plan inevitably fails, make a new plan. It was filled with audacity, but that was why they shouldn't really expect it. The fact that the soldiers they passed by didn't even raise an eyebrow at them, just saluting back to them as part of their routine. Honestly, it was going good.

Of course that was the moment they rounded around the corner and were stopped by a pack of dogs just lying there. Their nose twitched and they stood up, awfully slow in Ritsuka's perception. Then he followed their line of sight, as fury filled their eyes. They stared directly at Okita and Nero. The entire group widened their eyes as they remembered what those animals represented.

"Oh oh," Okita muttered. As if her words were a trigger, the dogs took a deep breath. Fortunately, the servants on Ritsuka's side didn't hesitate for a moment. Summoning their swords, they used the speed of servants and shoved their steel into their flesh, cutting and stabbing them apart. While the dog lover in him died a bit at seeing them cut apart on the ground, mutated as they seem to be, he knew they had a job to do. Okita wiped her forehead, sighing in relief as she looked at the others.

"Phew. That was close!"

That was when the animalistic screams began. Screeching, howling, roaring, they all started one after another before they became an echoing orchestra of chaos in the hallways. For a moment, Ritsuka had no idea what could've set them off, since the only possible responders were dead on the ground... bleeding…

He blinked before slapping his hand against his forehead. Right. Blood. Which smelled. Well, time to improvise then. he snapped his head to the others and opened his mouth. Before he could do so however, Mordred already threw him over her shoulder and whistled at the others as she replaced her disguise with her white armor.

"PLAN B IT IS!"

Plan B. Just like Plan A, it was not much of a plan, Ritsuka thought dryly as they dashed in high speed through the hallways. But they didn't have much of a choice now. With the shouts of the soldiers mixing with the rabid animals' noises, they were now on an even tighter timer. Either they could take down a servant now or it would be impossible to get anywhere without being noticed. A part of him wondered how not a single one of them cut them off yet, apparently content with chasing after them.

It was only when they reached the light at the end of the tunnel and his eyes recovered from being blinded when he realized that they weren't chasing them... but herding them. Right into an of civilians, animals and-

"Hello~!"

... Berserker, arms wide open in invitation, laughing in absolute happiness. Ritsuka clicked his tongue as Mordred let him down, before the four servants surrounded him in a protective circle. At the very least there wasn't an audience on the seats. Probably because most of them were down here, but he took his victories where he could get them.

"...Alright, does Caster have some invisible spies on us or why does it feel like they predicted this?"

"No use backing off now!" Mordred barked, her helmet forming around her head. The other servants nodded, the air around them changing as well as they held their weapons high. If the Berserker was intimidated at all of being alone against such a number, he didn't show it as he rubbed his hands together with a soft expression.

"Well, now that you're all here, I shouldn't hold back." He clapped his hands cheerfully. "Meet my best friends!"

They all tensed up. What kind of creature would he summon now? From the way the animals were seemingly straining to keep their form and not explode from their own veins, he could only imagine it would be the most monstrous of animals. What actually walked forward from the crowd was... anything but that. He couldn't help but stare incredulously with his servants at the sheep.

Normal looking sheep. They even rubbed themselves at Berserker for a cuddle. Not a single sign of the same kind of Mad Enhancement he put on the other animals. Mordred couldn't help but tap her shoulder with Clarent, tilting her head in bafflement.

"Sheep? Really?"

That was when the sheep turned to them...and their eyes turned red. Only the twitch from the instinct users and Eye of the Mind user respectively told Ritsuka things were going to turn ugly. After all, he did not expect rocket sheep headbutting straight into their blades, who were actually pushed back quite a bit. At the bizarre sight of the sheep foaming at their mouths, trying to bite his servants heads off, he instinctively jumped back, sweat running down his skin.

"OH GOD!"

"Sheep are supposed to be creatures of fluff and cuteness! Not this!" Okita screamed as she ducked away and had to dash forward to avoid a sheep from breaking her neck from above. A bad feeling dwelled up as Ritsuka saw the situation. Nero was pushed away further than the others, closer to the east side of the arena. George followed Okita, slashing at the sheep chasing after her and finding his blade meeting quite a bit of resistance to the south. Meanwhile, Mordred stayed with him, kneeing one of the savage creatures high into the sky, somehow not killing it despite the blood spilling out of its eyes and mouth.

His fear would prove to be truth when the arena suddenly began to shift. As if he was in a computer simulation at Chaldea, the sand moved him away with ease. The walls rippled, widening and extending into the middle of the arena, cutting his view off from the others. The last he saw was Nero putting up a brave smile just as she stabbed a dog into the ground and Okita and George yelling at him with worry. Only when a gauntlet ruffled his head, he realized he stopped breathing. Gasping for air, he rubbed his chest, staring at the drugged civilians surrounded by mutated birds and sheep, blood lust clear in their eyes as their drool dropped on the ground. He looked to his side, seeing Mordred grin at him with confidence.

"I got you, master."

He felt his heart slow down. With a deep breath, he rolled his shoulders. No time to feel despair. Even if things were going really terrible right now... they were in worse situations. Determination in his eyes, he nodded at Mordred. Then he saw her lean forward with a growl. Following her eyes, he could see what warranted that reaction.

Assassin of Cologne, or perhaps even Gensai Kawakami, stepped forward. Her right knuckled covered her mouth but her half lidded eyes made clear she was smiling at them, in a more sane and genuine manner than Berserker ever could be. Bowing with respect, she put her hand on her right side, palm rubbing the hilt of her katana as she coyly tilted her head.

"Shall we try this again, Miss Knight?"

"Still gonna hide behind civilians?" Mordred snarled, eyeing the victims. For a moment, Assassin's smile fell. While she put it up again in an instance, Ritsuka saw it and couldn't help but frown. What was that? Was she doing this against her will? If it was, something must have pushed her to use such unsavory tactics anyway. Shaking her head, she walked behind the people, only her voice bouncing off against the walls making her presence clear.

"It is the smart thing to do against an opponent such as you. Nothing personal, I assure you."

Then, the steps of high heels hitting the ground sounded in the arena. All noise ceased for some reason, as everyone looked up to the source of it. There she was, Caster of Cologne, walking dramatically slow to her seat, overseeing the entire stadium. With a mocking smile, she put her hand on her chest as she raised her left arm.

"Quite daring. It could have almost fooled me." She sighed, shaking her head before sneering down on them. "A pity then, that this is my Empire. And I know everything what is going on in it."

Letting gravity take its course, she let herself fall down on her seat, crossing her legs in the process. Leaning her right cheek on her right knuckle, she twirled with her left hand with a raised eyebrow and an ugly laugh.

"What are you waiting for? Go on! Entertain me!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Entertainment Part 1**

Sometimes, a single engagement could make all the difference for the battle that would follow. Gensai and Mordred stared at each other, hands tightly gripping their sword. The former, seemingly relaxed as the blade was still in its sheath. The latter, ready to attack with her sword brandished right in front of her. The two of them seemed to wait for some hidden signal only they could see. By all means, Ritsuka was worried, even if he believed in Mordred. After all, what changed from the last time they fought? Nothing to the positive. This time, the knight was alone with him. This time, the enemy had those monstrous animals at their side. Logic dictated that Mordred would have drawn a worse card than before.

If she realized that however, she sure as hell didn't show it. The moment Gensai tilted her head ever so slightly, most likely pondering what to do, Mordred shot forward, the ground cracking underneath her mana burst. The Assassin's eyes widened, but then she sighed, merely retreating at the foolish action in her eyes. Mordred clicked her tongue as she pushed through, shoving aside the hostages. But already, her aggressive approach had a cost. Not only did she have to be careful in pushing them aside, not only was the katana aiming at her throat from which she had to sway back... the animals were there this time too. And unlike Gensai apparently, they did not care about casualties. Necks were snapped when a sheep broke through, barely dodged and cut down by Mordred. Blood was spilled by the birds using their feet and beaks with no mercy, before a wide swing made the red fluids rain down. As she began to sweat nervously, her eyes moving around frantically, one could feel her panic as she was knocked to the side by a sheep. In that instance, Gensai moved. For a moment, she stepped back, as if taking a running start. Lowering her center of gravity so much that she seemed to almost touch the ground with her own chin. A slow breath, eyes empty as she stared at Mordred, matching her breathing. Then, she blurred into motion.

Under any other circumstance, Ritsuka was sure that would have been it for Mordred. She was off balance. Surrounded by enemies and hostages alike. The enemy had a clear shot at her. However, she wasn't that stupid. After all, sometimes fighting someone a second time made all the difference for a Heroic Spirit.

Even as she was knocked to the side, even as the blade moved faster than ever before... the Saber of the Round Table merely planted her feet as quickly as possible, while raising her left gauntlet. A loud clash of metal sounded. The sight before him made Ritsuka whistle, as the scene seemed to be frozen in time.

Gensai's eyes wide in shock and disbelief. The blade twitching in Mordred's hand, almost touching her palm, but only just so. The knight's absolute grin of delight as she tilted her head coyly. And her right arm, free of Clarent which was planted on the ground, already grabbing her opponent by the hem of her kimono.

"Gotcha~!"

She could barely blink before the world shifted around her. With the strength only overshadowed by the biggest physical juggernauts, Mordred threw her victim over her back. One would think it was foolish, given that her master was in that way. However, it didn't matter, as the explosive magical force propelled her after Gensai, who was barely able to get the ground on her feet. Mordred ignore the animals after her or the hostages just remaining where they stood. All she had in her eyes was an opportunity with a savage grin.

However, instead of seeing a look of panic, all that the knight faced was a cool, calculated mask, a sword held in front of it as if splitting it in half. Even as she swung down, with a furious roar, Gensai's grip merely tightened. Holding it close to her body she gently guided it off to the side. If it weren't for her gritted teeth, Ritsuka would've thought it was completely relaxed. There was a brief pause, as dust shot up when Clarent touched the ground. The two of them stared off into the area, before their eyes met each other again.

Then, the swords moved. Mordred's was wild. Savage, yet precise, accompanied with kicks and fists to parry the deadly blade or to aim for the Japanese' vitals. Meanwhile, Gensai's style could be called like a flight. While swift, they were wide, almost as if creating crescent moves. Her feet were solely there for dashing and jumping power, as if she was trying to cut off a bird in the sky or a sheep a wide distance away. And before every strike, she would sheathe her sword when possible, with each little breather she could gain from her actions. And the animals? No matter how many came or how hard they tried... in the end, the blades didn't distinguish between them, as they were all cut down.

In only a mere seconds, they moved that much. But then, they disengaged, both showing their side to Ritsuka as they took back their fighting positions. Mordred held her sword upfront while Gensai slowly sheathed her weapon, as the two of them caught their breath. The former grinned, cracking her neck a bit.

"Not bad. Not the best, but not bad." She rolled her shoulders a bit before tapping her shoulder with Clarent. "Kinda rusty for a swordsman, but I guess for an Assassin it's pretty good."

"Did you really believe I was that hopeless if caught?" Gensai asked, beginning to walk, trying to get at Mordred's side. At that, Mordred mirrored her movements and the two of them began to move in a circle.

"And hitting your own allies is all part of the plan?" The knight asked sarcastically, pointing at the cadavers littering the ground. The Assassin of Cologne merely glanced at them before shaking her head with a sigh.

"Honestly?" Her eyes slightly narrowed, becoming slightly blank. Ritsuka couldn't help but sweat. Despite the lack of killing intent, he could see the blood lust in her. Yet he still felt like he was staring at a normal person, presence wise. "These animals shouldn't live and we both know that."

"Fair enough," Mordred said with a shrug, the two of them coming to a sudden stop. She glanced at the people before glancing back at her. "So, no more hostages."

Gensai covered her mouth with her right hand, giggling lightly.

"It appears so."

Then the same hand moved for her hilt as Mordred pulled Clarent back, tip point at her enemy. The next moment, their dance began anew. While Ritsuka had to strain his eyes to keep up, he could tell that Gensai was out of her element. While her movements were quick and targeted, calculated even, Mordred's natural parameters, Mana Burst and Instinct more than made up for them. The wide swings were there to discourage Mordred from engaging more, may they be downward swings, iaijutsu draws or even spinning twirls. Mordred's words seemed true after all. Unlike someone like Kojiro or Musashi, Gensai's movements had a certain hesitation to them. As if she wasn't quite sure what to do.

"What a waste!" The knight yelled as metal screeched and clashed against each other. "If you could do this from the get go, don't piss me off with that hide and seek bullshit!"

"Typical Westerners! All about your sense of...ego!" She held her left hand against the back of her blade before pushing Mordred back, putting her weight behind it as she stepped into it. As Mordred skidded over the ground, Gensai sighed, shaking her head as she sheathed her sword once again. "You keep seeing offense at my respect."

"Ha?"

Ritsuka couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion as well. What the heck was she talking about? Her approach was cowardly, plain and simple. He never heard of any assassin talking that way about their way of fighting. At least not at the moment. However, if she took any offense to that, she didn't show it, instead raising her right finger as if lecturing them.

"Why shouldn't I use every trick I have at hand to win?" She asked in an rhetorical tone, raising an eyebrow at them. "Why should I play around in a duel, if I can kill you instantly?" She put her right hand on her chest, closing her eyes as if remembering something fondly. "Death is a reward, given by those who can grant it." She looked up and for the first time, Ritsuka could see a genuine smile on her face, one out of pure respect. "And you certainly deserved a swift death than one caused by a thousand cuts."

"Well, aren't ya nice?" Mordred muttered, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Prolonging a death is the greatest insult I can imagine," Gensai continued to elaborate, twirling her hand at her. "If you can strike someone down, do so. That is my philosophy."

That... was one way to look at a fight. Normally people enjoyed conflict or flat out avoided it. This was in a way refreshing to look at, Ritsuka thought. If she was telling the complete truth. Narrowing her eyes, Mordred seemed to think the same as she put Clarent into the ground and crossed her arms on it.

"Interesting." She tapped her arms a few times with her fingers, humming in thought. "But you don't look that upset at not killin' me or my master."

In that moment, Gensai froze, her smile stuck on her face. Blinking a few times, she moved her mouth, as if trying to say something but not getting the words out. In the end, she folded her hands in front of herself, tilting her head as her smile fell.

"What do you mean?" She asked, utterly baffled at her words. Ritsuka couldn't help but share a glance with Mordred. She was actually, honestly confused. Was this the first time she fought against someone like Mordred? And what would be different? Before he could open his mouth to ask, about her circumstances, about her motive of actually working for a Demon Pillar, a loud clap stopped him. The trio looked up, seeing Caster of Cologne stare down at them with a look of utter boredom.

"Assassin!" She shouted, causing Gensai to freeze up as she spread her arms open. "You waited so long to fight, yet you dally around like this?" A disdainful scoff escaped her as she shook her head, pointing down at her. "Stop hesitating and finish it already! Berserker and Saber are almost done on their sides! You don't want them to steal your target, do you?"

Ritsuka's eyes widened at those words. Okita. Nero. George. They were in trouble! How bad were these two servants? But before he could think more about it, something caught the corner of his eyes. Looking at Gensai, he could only step back in shock.

She was twitching. Her body spasmed, as if it was trying to fight back against something as her eyelids flickered over her eyes. Her muscles were tense as they shook, fighting back against something invisible. It was barely visible, but after everything he went through, he had an eye for detail. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. With an eerie calm, she turned to Mordred and him, the two of them looking at her in concern as she seemed to completely forget about her previous question.

"Indeed. I should focus on what's important," she muttered quietly, as if in trance. He grit his teeth with a growl. That... that was clearly mind control! He stepped forward, ignoring Mordred's shout as he spread his arms open.

"Assassin, lis-"

The blade barely missed his neck, as his Saber pulled him back as quickly as possible. Gone was the polite woman who was willing to talk. Now, only the cold manslayer remained, her eyes completely blank as she slowly exhaled as she sheathed her sword.

"Enough. I am your enemy. I am trying to kill you." Her mouth twitched, a small smile appearing. It almost seemed sad. "That is all that matters."

A snap of a finger sealed their fate as it echoed in the hall. The hostages, previously content with standing around, suddenly screamed in pain, grasping their chest and hair, trying to mitigate it. Then, as one, they ran after them. Mordred quickly picked him up under her arm, creating somee distance, but clicked her tongue as Gensai picked up the pursuit, the roles having reversed.

"You can't seriously be okay with this!" The knight screamed, staring at the almost savage horde of civilians chasing after them.

"They die for their Emperor," Caster's voice said mockinly from above and he could imagine her smug face as she did so. "It really doesn't matter."

"So she says," Gensai said in an impassioned tone, not a single pause in between her swings. Ritsuka took a deep breath, trying to bury his anger at the situation in his chest. He had to focus. Okita, Nero and George needed his help from the sound of it. It could've been a boast, a lie, but he doubted it. Maybe the former two's personal skills kicked in. Maybe they rightfully feared Saber and Berserker. In the end, he came to one conclusion as he looked at his command seals.

"Mordred, you gotta help them," he muttered quietly, hoping that the metal didn't overshadow it. To his relief, Mordred only froze up for a moment before clicking her tongue, kicking back a suffering woman with more force than before.

"And you gotta be kidding me!"

"Mordred! They need you." As she glanced at him, objection on her tongue, he raised his hand with a shaky smile. "I got this."

Honestly, he felt like he didn't had this. He was just a normal guy. But desperate times called for desperate measures and they needed every chance they could get. If he had to play time waster, so be it. His knight grit her teeth in frustration before putting him down after smashing the ground in front of her. Gensai backed off, eyes narrowed as Mordred rolled her shoulders with a growl

"If you die, I'm going to haunt your ass!" She shouted back at him before sprinting to the side, reeling her fist back before smashing it into the wall that was created between them and the others. It gave away surprisingly easy and Ritsuka saw flashes of steel before the wall seemingly tried to reconstruct itself, but not before the civilians managed to move through it. Which left him behind with only the Assassin of Cologne.

"I'm surprised you just let her go," he said, not only to her, but to the Emperor high above. The latter chuckled, twirling her hand at him as she smiled coyly.

"Why, I decided to grant your wish of suicide." She huffed, shaking her head as she leaned back. "You can thank me at any time, commoner."

"Believe me, I survived worse," Ritsuka muttered as his hand began to glow as Gensai lowered her center of gravity with a blank expression. Raising it in front of his face, he narrowed his eyes as his voice turned into a growl. "Waaaaaay worse."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Entertainment Part 2**

Desperately, Okita tried to calm her breathing, to reduce the burn in her lungs. Yet, she kept on coughing up blood, sapping her body from its needed energy. Already her ears screamed at her to move away as quickly as possible. But even moving her head felt sluggish. So instead, even as she saw metal and flesh reach for her skin from both corners of her eyes, she focused on recovering. Slowly, the burning subsided and she took in the precious air. A fatal move in a situation where she was alone. However, instead of immense pain and then nothingness, she merely heard unyielding steel sounding like a gong. She couldn't help but giggle despite her own disease.

She could afford to take a breather with one of the best defenders Chaldea had to offer covering her. Once the burning began to subside, she looked up, seeing Berserker and Saber being launched away after George let out a roar. With a crash, the two of them landed, a giddy grin and an annoyed expression respectively. Her smile fell slightly as she saw the bodies littered on the ground around them, their blood seeping into the earth. They didn't care at all about their own hostages. The Saber specifically seemed actually offended at their mere existence. She shook her head, raising herself after wiping her mouth. With a giggle, she patted her protector on the shoulder before raising her katana again next to her head, taking a deep breath.

"You're a saint, you know that, George-san?"

"So I have been called many times," he replied, sending her a small smile. She blinked, before giggling a bit. Heh, that wasn't even on purpose. And Nobu said she wasn't funny! Plenty of fans of GudaGuda said otherwise! Her good mood vanished when Saber of Cologne groaned, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Got your coughin' outta ya system, ya slut?" He clapped sarcastically when she narrowed her eyes at him. "Good."

She couldn't help but growl at him. Honestly, not even the most evil people in Chaldea were as terrible as him! Someone like Moriarty at least sounded polite and did it for their own amusement! This guy over was absolutely mean spirited! Not like Nobu at all! If only she could kill this guy quickly, she'd be way happier with this weird Singularity that had to be written by a hack like Anderson!

To her surprise, she wasn't the only one who thought so, as much as she wished she didn't share the opinion with…him.

"Saber, have some manners!" Berserker shouted in a chiding tone, pouting at his ally. "No need to mock them when you kill them!"

"Shut it, ya crazy shit," Saber merely replied with a scoff. Okita's eyes widened before she had to swing her blade to the side, shoving the sword aimed for her skull out of the way. It was like pushing against a solid rock wall when she was alive with nothing but her muscle power. She barely recognized that George had to defend from the animals charging at him with Berserker, the powerful strikes launching him away. But then she was too busy trying to survive, swinging her sword as quickly as she could as she used her foot work to dance around Saber.

Well, she tried to at least. Because even as confident as she was in her own abilities... Her Eye of the Mind practically never lied to her when it came to analyzing her odds. And right now, they looked pretty bad. The only area she was superior than him was in terms of speed. Even then, it was a close call, what with his Mana Burst causing him to explode after her over and over again even as she felt her legs burn from the amount of times she had to use Shukuichi. Other than that, she felt like she was in a stalemate or flat out inferior to him. He didn't seem to run out of breath as he crashed his sword into her. His strikes caused her bones to scream and shake every time she had to block it directly. Not to mention that even with her Eye, she just couldn't find a proper opening to launch her Noble Phantasm and finish the job already! It was like he was reading her as much as she read him! What was with that final boss super enemy?! She wasn't built for solo runs after all! The worst of all was, she could tell this man was holding back. No Noble Phantasm and some of his strikes felt too wide and paragraphed, just like Berserker. Unlike the latter however, she could tell this guy could do better, judging from the way she was being eyed like a piece of meat.

"You know, some people might feel offended if they were treated like a toy!" She shouted under strain, as they exchanged a flurry of blows. She eyed her katana before mentally sighing in relief. Whatever weapon Saber had, it was not something that would break her weapon like a twig. Still, better to parry whenever she could. However, her eyes narrowed in recognition. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, doing her signature stab. And unlike the many attempts before, the base technique she had borrowed from her Shinsengumi brother and perfected drew blood. The reason? For a moment, after she accused him, his eye twitched. With a hiss, he drew back, shaking his head as he rolled his shoulder.

Okita clicked her tongue. Damn it. Not deep enough. She had hoped to take out his left arm at least. Instead all she saw was him apparently having a headache. With a growl, he leaned forward, sending her a mocking grin as he let his arms hang loosely a bit.

"It's been so fuckin' long since I got a good workout, I sure as fuck gonna have it," he leered at her. He almost seemed to believe it entirely. She glanced up at the woman in the stands, crossing her legs as she giggled to herself. Okita sighed in exasperation. Yup. Still hating Casters with their magic whimey stuff. Just couldn't keep things simple, huh? And yet again, the one person she didn't want to agree agreed with her! Why couldn't she be more around normal guys in this Singularity?!

"That's mean!" Berserker shouted as he held George's arms in place, squeezing them so hard that even the sturdy Saint began to flinch from the pressure. "You're mean! We gotta kill them! Don't tease them like this!"

As the maniac looked away, the Rider didn't take that chance for granted. The moment he looked away to complain to his ally, George reared his head back before smashing his forehead directly into the Berserker's nose. As he flinched in pain, holding his face, George immediately tightened his grip on Ascalon and slashed to the side, intending to cut him in half right then and there. However, Berserker managed to jump back quickly enough that it only cut through the skin, but nothing vital.

As he cried in pain, rubbing his broken nose, Saber sent him a look of utter disdain as he rolled his injured shoulder a bit, apparently not even feeling the pain.

"You little shit don't get to tell me what to do."

Berserker pouted at his ally, giving him a stink eye as he showed his tongue. At the same time, he grabbed the head of a nearby dog. It glanced at him, despite the rage looking up with what Okita could only call worship.

"Oh Lord in heaven!" He began to squeeze, ignoring the pained yelp of the animal, instead looking at the sky with a fanatic smile, spreading his arms. "Accept this offering of mine!"

Aaaaand Berserker popped the dog's head like a grapefruit, causing Okita to almost retch. Eww. While he did it before, she really couldn't get used to such gore. This was a somewhat family friendly setting! It's gonna get demonetized on the internet!...Oh right, Chaldea couldn't record anything right now, what with the lack of connection.

Anyway, the Berserker wiped his mouth, revealing a completely intact face. Whatever cuts she and George managed to inflict on him were disappearing already. Speaking of the latter, she couldn't help but look at him with worry. While he was always a patient and "good" man, she could see how he tightened his grip around his weapon, his lips pressed together at the abuse of his God's name.

Before they could move at each other again however, her ears twitched at a scream, muffled by the wall getting closer. All four of them snapped their heads to the unnatural wall, which didn't even last a second as it was kicked through as if it was made out of cardboard. Mordred grinned widely, swinging her sword down at the closest target to her, which was the other enemy Saber.

"Surprise, assholes!" She screamed, pressing her weight down from above. Saber of Cologne widened his eyes for a moment before grinning slightly. Mordred landed on the ground and their blades moved in an explosive blurry, mana being shot out to increase their speed with each strike. And just as before, the hostages that came through that wall were utterly slaughtered by the enemy Saber's blade. As blood was spilled and Mordred was pushed back, the latter growled at the sight. At the same time, Saber of Cologne whistled, tapping his shoulder with his blood stained sword with a smug smirk.

"Wow. What a rip off."

"Right back at you!" Mordred snarled back, about to clash with him once again. However, a shrill voice echoed against the walls.

"Stop killing my subjects, you idiot!"

Everyone looked up to see Caster of Cologne grab her hair in absolute frustration, her breath heavy as she looked down at the culprit. Said culprit eye twitched before he shook his head and spread his arms open with a dismissive grunt.

"They're useless to me! I don't need that shit!"

"That's not my-" Stopping herself, she let out a muffled scream through her closed mouth. She threw her arms in the air and let herself fall on her chair with a sneer. "Forget it! Have it your way!"

Okita couldn't help but smile a bit. At least she didn't have as much control as she believed then. She twirled her katana and shared a look with Mordred. The latter blinked at her before scoffing with a small smile, raising her free hand as she rested her blade on her shoulder.

"Tag in?"

"Tag in~!"

Clapping their hands together, she immediately rushed the Berserker as destruction was caused behind her. But before she could properly ramp up her speed to stab the unsuspecting Berserker from the side, as he clashed with George once again, something in the corner of her eye moved. She clicked her tongue, reversing her grip on her blade before slashing upwards. She was seriously starting to get ticked off by the amount of animal abuse she had to commit! What if PETA would shut down Chaldea because of this, huh?!

She immediately picked up her speed, but by now, Berserker already noticed her. Grabbing George by his leg as he ducked underneath a swing, he threw him at her. Eyes wide, she barely was able to side step, letting the Guardian Knight slide over the ground before jumping onto his feet not a second later. Berserker took the opportunity to fold his hands together, as if committing a prayer. Okita narrowed her eyes. He kept doing that in his first attack as well. Over and over again. But what kind of Christian servant would be like this?!

"Come on, let us spill blood in the name of the Lord!"

"The Lord would never accept such things!" George immediately objected, throwing his right arm to the side. In response, Berserker tilted his head, his eyes twitching as his smile began to widen even more in a deranged manner.

"Ehhh~? Of course he does! Why would he ask for sacrifices then?!" He raised his finger to the sky, a crazed laugh escaping him- "Why would he let his Holy Son die!? Why would he demand Isaac to die and then a ram?!" He leaned forward, hands formed into claws as he began to approach them with his animals around him ever so slowly, as if stalking his prey. "He desires blood!"

"That... " George muttered in utter disbelief. Who could blame him? The last time he heard such crazy nonsense was from Caster Gilles, and that guy was deranged! Coooool but deranged! Which made identifying this one so hard. Who was Christian? Who was a bloodhungry murderer praising sacrifices and has a thing with animals? She wrecked her head over and over again as she tried to figure it out. She grit her teeth as Berserker broke the ground and increased his speed in his attack against George. She meanwhile at the cut apart even more animals. Bird, stabbed, dog, leg slash and then beheading it. Over and over, with the resistance starting to get more and more. Either the animals were actually getting stronger or exhaustion was starting to catch up to her. On top of that, she still tried to figure out this Berserker's legend.

Gaaah, she had no idea! She didn't know the bible inside out! With frustration, she threw her arm to the side, cutting a sheep away, yet not killing it. Glaring at the insane maniac punching repeatedly against George's guard over and over again, causing dust to fly around, creating a sort of veil around them. Then, she said the first thing that came to mind in her agitation.

"Seriously, who are you?! Cain?!"

He completely froze. Instead of taking advantage of the weakness, George instead widened his eyes, before leaping away as far as possible. She was about to ask what was wrong, even as the change of atmosphere worried her, as well as the lack of movement of the animals. But then... Berserker of Cologne spoke up.

"Cain?" He asked in a completely monotone tone. The moment his voice reached her ears, she paled, sweat breaking out on her skin as she couldn't help but take a step back. Even Mordred and Saber of Cologne stopped fighting, snapping their heads to the sudden change.

A shiver went down her spine at his completely empty eyes staring at her and she wished that Nobu was here to lighten the mood. Before, he was utterly insane, yet had this sort of joy around him. Now? It was completely gone, together with anything else that could be called emotions in his entire being. It was utterly unnerving, causing Okita to wonder what kind of terrible mistake she just did. Then, as if the big bang occured in the void that was his being, murderous intent, more malicious, twited and intense than ever before washed over her. The air began to disort by his magical power and he began to scratch his own head so hard he began to draw blood, muttering under his mouth while progressively becoming louder.

"...aincaincainCainCainCaINCAINCAIN**CAINCAIN****_CAINCAINCAIN-_**!"

"Oh good Lord, no... " She heard George say quietly in utter horror. Okita could barely take her eyes of from the self punishment. Did he realize who it could be? And what could-

In an instant it clicked in her and she had to share the horror the Saint was having. She was not the most well versed in Western Religion. But due to her duty in Chaldea, she did pick up a book here and there. One of them? The Bible. And... as insane as it was... There was only one possible person that would elect such a reaction at the random name she spouted. One person that was not Cain himself, that was deeply connected to him to cause this insanity. One person. And the realization caused her to cover her mouth in shock. That... that was impossible. This kind of servant in front of her. Yet... She remembered Penthesilea. Her origin, how she came into her class as Chaldea knew it.

It was absolutely possible Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, could be a Berserker like this.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Shepherd**

_Once, there were two brothers, born from the first humans on this world. The sons of Adam and Eve, who had been banished from paradise by God himself. While they would have to face the rough reality of the real world... Despite all the trials and tribulations, they were happy. Learning skills necessary to survive, the brothers decided to split up their work._

_The older brother, strong and diligent, would take care of the fields, granting them and humanity the art of agriculture. With his strength, he would prepare the ground, plant the seeds and take care of them with his gentle demeanor. Thanks to him, food was never a problem._

_Then there was him, the younger brother. Less strong and less diligent. All he was good for was being good with animals, thus being the first shepherd. While he felt sad about having to sacrifice his friends here and there for food or for the Lord, he cherished the time he had with them. Making sure they went the right way, feeding them and just having a good time with them, like he did right now. Hugging one of his sheep, he sighed in content as it let out a soft "baaa". Life was good! Still, he had a job to do. With that in mind, he rose up and gently pushed the sheep forward, sending it to the others standing on the much better grass. Naturally tended by his brother of course. Enjoying the wind in the air, he closed his eyes as the animals left him. Then, he heard familiar steps from behind. With a giddy smile, he turned around, opening his eyes._

_"Ah, bro-"_

_He stopped, face frozen in confusion at the sight in front of him. Cain had his arms up, holding something. Then, a sharp pain flared up on his head. He began to feel dizzy as something warm and wet began to run down his forehead. His thoughts were becoming dizzy and his vision blurry. But even in that state, Abel could see the beloved face of his own brother. However, instead of the warm smile he usually faced... he was met with a tear stained expression filled with despair and hatred. That was all he could see when Cain reared back his arms and smashed something into Abel's forehead. With great force, he was dropped onto his back, not a single sound leaving him as his expression was stuck with shock. Arms spread wide, his blood began to seep into the green grass, tainting it with red. As darkness began to grasp him, the pain becoming overbearing and tears coming out of his eyes, all Abel felt... was confusion._

_Why... why was Cain looking at him like that? Choking back sobs and yet filled with enough rage that he merely shook his head at him? Why did he do it? The rock, why, the blood, why, why was he despairing, what was the reason, why kill him, who would allow him, whywhywhywhywhyWHY-_

_His mind was a vortex of thoughts. Memories of old, remembered and investigated, time compressed into a single second before his own death. Searching for answers, yet never finding any, repeatedly seeing the contrast between the past gentle brother and the screaming Cain, even as the sounds didn't reach his ears. It twisted, it bend, trying to find reasons, trying to see why he was hit with a rock... until it broke._

_With whatever life he had left, a chuckle escaped him. The shadow of his brother stepped back, grabbing his hair as if realizing something. But it didn't matter. It was alright. For Abel got it as well."_

_"Ah... " He weakly let out as he felt his mouth begin to hurt, even more than his bleeding wounds did._

_It was a gift. They sacrificed animals and plants. But there was life in humans as well! Precious life and God wanted it back! Of course, Cain would never hurt him or punish him! Good old Cain, always looking out for him! Just a good present, a lesson even! Abel understood completely! Yes, yes, yes, he did! People needed to be killed! They needed to die! The Lord had willed it and Cain was a dutiful follower! He'd never be angry or mad or despairing, Abel was just seeing tricks! Ahhh, if he had the strength, he would laugh! The pain, the life seeping from him, it was all for the sake of him! He had to repay Cain for it! Oh, he had to give it to him! The same gift! YES! That was what Cain wanted! United once again, after they ascended! He tried to say it, tried to give his thanks, but Abel could only be content at the ecstasy of realizing and understanding such a wonderful revelation!_

_Ahhh, His Brother! Cain! Cain! CAincaincaCAInCAInCaincAiN_

_**CAINCcaincaincCAin**__-_

_He never realized the source of Cain's brother was not solely by his own actions… but the bloodied, face splitting smile Abel had as the light left his eyes._

/

"You know where he is?!" Abel screamed suddenly, fury exploding out of him as magical energy flared up like an explosion. Okita took a step back, pointing at herself as she blinked, a nervous laugh escaping her.

"Eh?"

Instead of lightening the situation up however, the insane Shepherd began to dig his own fingers into his skull. Without hesitation, she raised her sword and retook her fighting position, just as George did. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes slightly as she cooled down. She couldn't get dragged into this. This insanity. She had to focus on the here and now and that was most likely a fight to the death. Still, even as she sharpened her senses, the surprise was great when she heard Caster's voice... filled with panic.

"Berserker, calm down, now!" She ordered, leaning forward on her throne. But if Berserker heard her, he didn't gave any indication as he did, shaking his head so fast and hard Okita was surprised his neck didn't break yet.

"Cain, Cain, Cain, I'm not Cain, I'm not as great as him, I'm always worse than him-"

"Damn it, what did you say, Okita?!" Mordred shouted, slowly moving her way towards her and George, completely ignoring the enemy Saber who fortunately was also too busy staring at the sudden shift of genre from action comedy to straight up messed up horror. Anyway the Shinsengumi captain huffed before focusing back at Berserker going even more insane and the animals foaming at their mouths, clearly suffering a lot from whatever their owner was doing to them.

"Oh, this is not my fault!" She shouted back. Sure, she name dropped the one trigger he had and was most likely making everything worse, but hey! It was just a matter of time! Dramatic narrative demanded that! She was absolutely in the clear, for she was just a servant character with no agency beyond the will of the author! Yup! Always blame Anderson and Shakespeare! Even if they don't seem to be here!

"I'm doing my best, Lord! Where is he, I need to meet him, I spilled enough blood, right right right right?!" Abel screeched, his head snapping back as he stared at heaven with bloodshot eyes. "I'm back, he can come to me, I can help him, save him, punish him like he did with me, pleasepleaseplease!"

Oh, this could not get any worse. Naturally the second she thought so, the damn animals in front of them actually grew in size. From animals that were barely up to her knee, to a size that forced her to look up a bit. Not only that, they could hear loud, monstrous roars from outside the city as well, on top of the ground shaking. Which could only mean one thing.

"Huddle up!" Mordred roared. In an instant, the three servants stood next to each other, facing Berserker, his animals and... Okita blinked. Only them? Where was Saber? Did he already run away?! Just as she wondered that, the fake walls suddenly collapsed. As it crumbled, the three of them shared a look. In a beat, they moved, blurring in the air before stopping in front of Ritsuka, standing between him and their enemies. The former breathed heavily, supporting himself on his own knees, but didn't seem overly injured. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he raised an eyebrow at them.

"Okay, good news, Assassin is gone. Bad news, what the heck-" He leaned to the side before he could finish the sentence. Looking straight at the growing animals becoming more and more demonic, their fur rotting away, their skin turning red and their teeth growing far beyond what they were supposed to. Meanwhile, Berserker began to scratch away at his own face, as magical energy began to seep into him.

"Caincaincaincaincaincain-"

Ritsuka blinked before going back behind his servants.

"Ooooookay then." He licked his lips before narrowing his eyes at them. Muttering something to himself, he straightened his back, pointing at them. "Any of you have seen Nero?"

... Huh. Where was she? Shouldn't she be in the arena as well? She shared a confused look with the other servants. Wait, did she get taken by the enemy?! Dang it, she kept going on and on about being an emperor, not a damsel in distress!

"Thoughts for later! They're coming!" Mordred snarled and the servants immediately faced the actions. The monsters, ranging from human sized to actually small building size, led by the twisted sheep roared as they rushed them. The knights stood their ground, digging their feet in as the monsters rammed into them. At the same time, Okita dashed forward, ducking and weaving around as her arm blurred, dancing with her sword as she cut down the smaller ones. Now, while they looked even scarier than before, a solid six out of Babylonia, even with Berserker's "curse" it didn't change one thing.

Despite being powered up, they were still just animals, as opposed to actual heroic spirits. However…

"Getting real tired of that quantity bullshit!" Mordred shouted, as for every animal that was turned into a bloody smear, two replaced its place. It didn't help that they were starting to come from all sides slowly but surely. As quick and strong they were, they were not absolute as shields, as some actually managed to get through despite the wild swings of Mordred, the swift precision of Okita and the endurance of George. Because of that Ritsuka got scratches on his skin as he barely avoided them, using all of his experience to buy himself time for his servants to swiftly make up for their blunder.

"Getting Babylona flashbacks here!" Ritsuka shouted, throwing himself at Mordred. The latter grabbed him with her left arm, swinging him around into safety as her right arm quickly dealt with the sheep trying to kill him with a stab and a crush with her boot.

"TELL ME ALREADY! WHERE IS HE?! HE NEEDS TO MEET OUR LORD AGAIN!"

"Well, at least he isn't coming after us," Okita said, trying to lighten up the mood as she retreated back to their sides, holding her katana in both hands as she swiftly cut down a few dogs, increasing her cuts to make up for their toughness.

"Better not wait for him to change his mind!" Ritsuka shouted, allowing himself to be sandwiched by the three of them. George grunted in agreement before leaning to the side and punching a dog sized dove into the gut before cutting it in half.

"We have to take down Berserker. One clean hit."

"Well, still can't use my Noble Phantasm unless they're in the sky!"

"But you can take out the big ones," Ritsuka muttered to himself at Mordred's comment. Then he clapped his hands together. "Okay, here's the plan!"

Even as their steel cut through the masses, never ceasing, even amidst the chaos and screams of their opponent, they lend an open and focused ear to their master. It was only a few words, but their intent was clear. Mordred laughed loudly, showing her teeth in excitement even as she crushed her opponents with her wild power. Even George cracked a smile, shaking his head in exasperation as his sword moved so fast that it was Ritsuka's shield. And Okita? She smiled nervously, raising her left hand even as her right arm was busy stabbing her opponents to death.

"Geez, no need to put so much pressure on me!" She cracked her neck, taking a deep breath. "Well then, time for the captain of the First Shinsengumi unit to shine!"

Then, without even a signal or some kind, they acted on the plan at the same time. Okita's smile vanished as she held up her blade next to her head, using her left arm like an iron sight. She exhaled slowly as she lowered herself. In that same instance, Ritsuka and George ducked.

"Take that!" Lightning and magical energy flared around Mordred as she let out a battlecry, spinning Clarent around her to create a deadly vortex, dismantling and pulling the animals in which got too close. With more breathing room around them, Okita's legs tensed up as she leaned forward.

"**Ascalon**!"

A spear of light, filled with the power to slay dragons, soared through the sky. One by one, the animals on the path were skewered and removed. Yet, it was merely an anti-unit Noble Phantasm. With the amount of bodies, its light began to die out before it could even reach the Berserker, digging his hands into the growl with feral screams. However, a path had opened now nonetheless.

And Okita intended to use that path.

One Step. The Shukuichi skill caused her to blur forward, picking up speed through the opening that was created. However, the monsters still alive sensed the danger to their master and moved to intercept. Weak as they were, their numbers would be enough to stop her. Especially the giants could do enough to make this approach fail. However, the giants were also easy targets.

"**Clarent Blood...ARTHUR**!"

While Mordred was restricted in its use, she could and did sent the scarlet red wave of deadly energy towards the sky. And while it missed the smaller once, the bigger ones lost their upper halfs easy enough. While it clipped the colliseum, they certainly didn't kill anyone. At least they really shouldn't have. Okita clicked her tongue. No time to think about that, just keep running!

Two Steps. Infinite.

Just as the animals, quickly recovering from the sudden shock, were about to attack her, she used the shock wave behind her as further boost. By now, she disappeared from most eyes. The sensation of speed, of breaking the rules of physics, as if she was present three times at once in the same spot. She exhaled and took a leap, slowing down for just an instance.

Three Steps. A sword absolute.

In that moment, everyone saw her. Her allies, seeing their victory. The animals, seeing the end of their shepherd. And Abel? A moment of innocent fear, like that of a child, reflected in his eyes. Seeing the death that was her approaching him, a moment of sanity appeared. Okita could only close her eyes in pity. After all, nobody wanted to die. His words were only spouted caused by madness. It was like putting down a poor kid. Still, she steeled her heart and finished the job, as a servant of Chaldea.

"**Mumyou Sandan-zuki!**"

She struck, passing through Abel. The sword stab hit, three times not in a row, but exactly the same time. Reality collapsed in the point that was his head. Sliding on the ground, she let out a breath, ignoring the pain that flared up in her legs from its exertion. Then, she heard a wet pop behind her. In an instance, the animals roars of despair and anger ceased. Turning around, she saw them dissolve, falling down as their headless owner stood there. Slowly, it fell, but before hitting the ground, it completely disappeared.

Wiping her sword of the blood with a swift cut through the air, she sheathed her weapon, her eyes filled with melancholy as she stared at where her victim would've landed. She didn't regret killing him. She was a killer through and through. But she could pity him for what he was. Staring at the others, she could tell they felt the same. Despite their victory, none of them were smiling. George stepped forward, crossing the air in front of him before clasping his hands together.

"Rest in piece, Son of Adam."

Okita sighed. Well, that was convenient. She feared they'd had to fight off all the other monsters as well. Apparently sometimes life threw her a bone after all. She looked up at the tribunes, licking her lips in anticipation.

One down, three to go.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Spoils of Victory**

The city was engulfed in the reddish light of the twilight. As the sun set, two individuals remained in an alley. One sat on a crate, poking at his shoulder on which barely a scratch remained. The other leaned against the wall, glancing out of their location as her ears twitched in focused attention to her surroundings. Reports were separated and summarized in her head before she nodded to herself with a small sigh. Well. That was a pity.

"It appears Berserker has perished. All of his animals are gone now," she muttered, more to herself than to Saber. She didn't mention that the damage was kept to a minimum, fortunate enough, but she knew that he didn't care about such things at all, given his attitude towards their "hostages". A small frown appeared on her face as she rubbed her forehead. Back then, she recognized it as necessary. After all, an Assassin couldn't win face to face with the Saber class. However, that pragmatic justification felt... hollow. Risking the life of others just because it suited her? She couldn't recall ever having done that before. When did she... ? At the growing headache, she shook her head. Nevermind that. She had to deal with her current nuisance. Said nuisance scoffed dismissively as he checked his beaten sword, granted by Caster. To her surprise, he proceeded to break the weapon over his knee and throw the remains over his shoulders.

"Fuckin' finally." He spat to the side before dusting his hands off. "Kid was a pain in the ass!"

"He was still our ally," she replied in a cold tone with narrowed eyes. Yes. He was utterly insane. Conversations with him was impossible and more similar to talking with a ticking bomb. He had absolutely no remorse in killing anything just like Saber, due to his twisted mind. However. Even in her life she often couldn't pick who to work with. Yet she always had a professional respect for others. To be so dismissive of him...Clearly Saber knew how it annoyed her, as he just glared right at her eyes, daring her to challenge him.

"Like hell he was. He was a stupid loose cannon."

She took a deep breath. It was foolish trying to discuss this with him. He was a brute Westerner through and through. Not to mention the odds of her actually defeating him right now was less than optimal. Because of that, she stepped away from the wall, brushing her hair back as she glanced at the broken pieces of his weapon.

"I assume you are done following Caster's... advice?" She asked, remembering the events of this weapon. To make sure to hide his identity, Caster had explained with a demeaning face. To make sure that he wouldn't finish things too quickly. Gensai had to cover her mouth to stop a giggle escaping. Oh, what a face she would have to see that hard work be destroyed now. Then again, it was shoddy metalwork anyway. As expected of a noble who never stepped into a forge at all.

"I was promised some good fights before gettin' that fuckin' wish." Saber clicked his tongue and cracked his knuckles as he chuckled dryly. "Reaaaaly didn't live up to that hype yet. Either they do when I beat them up or they die. Simple as that." He sneered at her before turning her back to him "Not all of us get to be weak as fuck and enjoy everything cause of that."

"Very well." "We have waited long enough anyway."

"Damn straight."

She considered telling him to watch out for Caster. At least more than she did already. But she held back. For one, he probably realized the "problems" as well. Not to mention that he would most likely insult her anyway, so she saved her breath. Instead, she tapped the side of her head, mulling over what to do now since she was alone in the moment. Then, a thought came to mind, causing her to frown.

It was foolish, her mind said to her. The rational part of her screamed at her to stick to the plan, to commit to the usual tactics she had. Especially now, that they had a victory, their guard might be down. However... She sighed. So far listening to her head didn't help much. Not to mention, could she even trust it anymore? Ever since they started this little war against Chaldea, her thoughts felt muddled. It felt like her arms and legs were chained by an invisible force. Her insight dragged down by a form of gravity ever since she agreed to work with those other servants.

Or did she agree at all? Did she have a choice in this? She put her hand against her chest, eyes narrowed. What would her heart say, not her mind that had been influenced in some form? What would she do.

A small smile appeared, a warm memory coming back. Well. It was a simple answer. With that in mind, she stepped into the crimson light, her eyes looking at the barracks near the arena.

She needed to have a word with the soldiers. There was a lot to prepare for the night after all.

/

Nero wasn't at the meeting spot. After they managed to rest for a bit, they obviously had to run out of the arena as quickly as possible. The chaos created by the aftermath of Berserker gave them enough breathing room to get out unscathed. Thanks to that, they managed to get all the way to the outskirts of the city. While not leaving beyond the walls that surrounded the "false" Cologne, they were so far away from the usual "goings" of the city, that this was essentially the perfect hiding spot. Which was why the agreed to meet up here in case they got seperated.

Yet, all they found in the abandoned building was a letter.

"Apologies for my absence. Umu, truly a tragedy for you. However, I am still being chased, so I can only leave this here, swiftly, before having to move on. This place is not compromised for I have passed it as quickly as I could by the time you read this. Otherwise my hand writing would be much more beautiful! But there is a location that might be important. This 'Demon Pillar' might be located there. I leave the choice to you."

Suffice to say, Ritsuka sighed at the contents. No rest for the wicked. He let himself fall on the dirty ground, feeling like a soft bed after the ordeal he went through. Raising his hand, he stared at his command seals. Or more specifically, the two left. While they were limited, he believed he made the right choice, using the command seal to empower his shadow servant he called to battle. Since they were just literal shadows of their real selves, he needed the boost to survive long enough. Still, every time he used one, it stung. What if he needed them later? What if there was a situation where he had to use one and he already ran out? The RPG player in him wept at the waste. But he was sure he'd weep more if that blade would've gave him a bad case of death. In the end, he had to believe in his own decisions, he thought with a sigh as he covered his eyes with the back of the hand.

"Y'know, for someone being chased, that's a lot to write down."

He blinked, before moving his hand away. Raising his head a bit, he saw Mordred frown deeply at the letter after George handed it over. The latter crossed his arms, frowning a bit.

"What are you implying, Mordred?"

"I'm saying that something ain't right with our emperor," she said, dropping down on a rock after flipping the letter at Okita with a glare. "She keeps getting seperated from us. We never see her fight. That one time where master would have been screwed without us. And now this?"

"Hey, Okita fought with her so-"

"Actually, I was kinda too busy," Okita interrupted her master as she threw the letter back at George, a sheepish expression on her face. Then she let out a huff, crossing her arms with a pout. "So yeah, there's something fishy about Nero-san. Too many plot holes!"

Ritsuka bit his lip. He tried to ignore the signs. But they were all there. Something was off. About all this. The way Caster and the rest seemingly... held back? In some form. Played around with them. The way Nero acted, just the little things. It wouldn't be the first time he was betrayed by his own ally. However…

He sighed. He just couldn't help it. Always trying to see the best in others, to find something to relate to and work with. That's how he lived.

"Maybe there is something off," he started carefully before giving them a small smile. "But I can't just distrust them like this. It's... just not me. What if distrusting our allies is what the enemies want?" He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "I worked together with worse, you know that. Besides, she helped us plenty enough with information."

The servants couldn't help but smile at that. It was this kind of personality that they stayed for in Chaldea. Well, that and saving humanity over and over again. He scratched the back of his head with a small laugh as Mordred rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright. But I get to say 'I told you so'," she said, crossing her arms and sat down on the ground.

"I think we'd be too dead to care by then," Ritsuka joked before lying back down with an exhausted sigh. "But really, what would Nero gain from helping the enemy?"

"Well, depends. What does the enemy want?" Okita asked, tapping her lips as she looked around in the building with playful steps.

"Berse-I mean, Abel is a no brainer." Mordred leaned forward as she rested her right cheek on her hand. "He wanted to kill Cain. Or at least meet him. But in what way? Summon him?"

"Cain is immortal, right?" He asked with a small frown. All three of them turned to George, who held his chin thoughtfully.

"It doesn't specify. He is cursed to wander the earth, while being protected from being murdered, just like his brother was murdered. It might mean immortality, but it could also no be."

"So let's assume Abel wouldn't be able to just summon him," Ritsuka said, nodding at the saint's explanation. Clapping his hands together, he stared at the ceiling with a frown. "What's the alternative?"

"Most likely find him and kill him, if he's alive. He was talking about 'making him meet the lord', right?"

"So either kill Cain with the wish or incarnate and kill him the hard way?" Mordred asked, glancing at her Saber counterpart. She put her arms behind her head, sighing. "Talk about pitiful."

"He is, yes. But I can also respect him."

With surprise in their eyes, everyone turned to Rider, eyes closed in a somber way. Ritsuka couldn't help but scratch the back of his head as he heard him say that. Out of all people, he'd think that George would be, well, offended at Abel's point of view. He certainly sounded like it, if Okikta's and Mordred's faces of disbelief were anything to go by.

"In what way?" He asked quietly, causing the saint to nod slowly.

"His belief. He never lost it." He twirled his arm at them. "Yes. He broke. His sanity was gone. The betrayal struck him deeply. Yet despite all those things, he clung to the belief that the Lord didn't betray him. That the lord wasn't evil or that his brother had only the best intentions." He clasped his hands together for a prayer. "If only for that, I can respect him."

The master of Chaldea hummed thoughtfully. Abel did seem different from someone like Caster Gilles. The latter was despairing and committed atrocious acts to prove that God had abandoned him and Jeanne D'arc.. Abel on the other hand never had such issues. His faith remained strong, even if it was turned inside out. Shaking his head, he decided to focus on the task at hand. They had a motive for Abel, definitely. But the others were an entirely different story.

"Okita, do you have any idea what Gensai might want out of this?" He asked her, concern coloring his voice. Unlike Berserker, one of their own knew Assassin. And unlike Berserker, Assassin seemed quite sane, even with that... hiccup of hers. Whatever Caster did anyway. The Shinsengumi captain sighed, looking at the ground with an expression of sadness.

"I could guess, but they all sound... off character." She frowned, meeting her master's gaze. "She wouldn't destroy humanity's time line for that. Never. Not while she has free will."

"So Caster then," Mordred muttered, bringing their fear to the forefront. That an otherwise decent person was used as a puppet. But there had to be some limit, Ritsuka thought as he bit his lip. It seemed like there were heavy side effects if Caster forced something too out of character? Gensai, for all her being a servant, slowed down in some way against him and Mordred when she got interrupted. So before all of that, she had to be genuine, right?

Damn it, he just couldn't see the big scheme. It didn't add up. With that in mind, he clapped his cheeks and stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

"Guess there's only one way to find out more."

"So we're going after all," Mordred said, cracking her neck a bit.

"I'd like to find Nero, but she didn't leave a clue where she'd go. That location is our only need," he explained, glancing at George who had the letter with him. With that said and done, all of them rose to their feet, ready to fight. While it was already getting late, the sun slowly starting to disappear... Ritsuka didn't feel like resting. He had enough for now and time was of the essence. This was still enemy territory after all. Besides, with the loss of Berserker, this was their best chance.

But as they began to sneak through the streets, something happened that Ritsuka could have never predicted. Several voices shouted through the city, not in chaos, but in complete harmony. Not only that... the message it contained was completely mind boggling.

"Okita Souji! You have been formally invited for a tea ceremony by the Manslayer! No guests are allowed! Please meet at this location, near... "

They slowly turned to the girl in question, who could only blink owlishly as she pointed at herself. Ritsuka gaped. That... that was...

"You gotta be kidding me, that's totally a trap!" Mordred shouted, throwing her arms up in agitation. He and George concurred with a nod of their head. That was way too direct of an approach and had bait written all over it. It was actually kind of rude, all things considered. However it was Okita's reaction that was the most damning. She looked down, biting her lip in... consideration. Mordred did a double take at that before flicking her forehead, causing the Japanese woman to yelp in pain. "C'mon, you're not actually considering this!"

"Okay, I do, but hear me out!" She yelled, rubbing her forehead. After letting out a small whine, she took a deep breath, her face turning serious. "It could be a trap. By Caster, maybe." She hesitated before her eyes were filled with steel as she straightened up her back. "But if not... There's no way she'd sully the tea ceremony. Never. It's too important to her." She paused before a small giggle escaped her, ruining the serious mood as she raised her finger"Heck, I'm pretty sure she killed people for it. So even if she was mind controlled, it'd have to be some pretty heavy stuff!"

"So you want to go."

"I want to know," she corrected her master. Then, with her hands playfully forming pistols, she twirled them at him with a cheeky grin. "Besides, getting some depth with another character should boost my popularity, right~?"

Shaking his head in exasperation at her usual antics, he gave her a worried look as he put walked up to her.

"Do you think you can talk her out of this?"

"Maybe." Her smile wavered a bit as she looked down. "But I wouldn't bet on it." Clapping her cheeks, she pushed them in a little as she put on a bright smile again. "We'll probably have a cool shounen fight though!"

Well, if she was this confident, what kind of master was he to deny her? With his hand on her shoulder, he squeezed it reassuringly as he nodded at her.

"I trust you."

"D'aw, master! You're making me blush!" She said with a giggle, scratching the back of her head as her face did exactly that. How cute. Rolling her shoulders a bit, she began to jog away, but not before spinning around and waving at them with great enthusiasm.

"Good luck to you!"

After she vanished, Mordred threw her arm around her master's neck, pulling him closer as she gave him a small glare.

"Let's just hope that doesn't blow up in our faces ey?"

Ritsuka laughed nervously. Dantes' motto better ring true here or else this knight of the round table might just kill him. And judging by how George avoided his gaze, the saint might as well just let him to ensure his own safety.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: In The Web**

It took them a while to reach this place, having to cross the entire city to reach it. Ritsuka having decided to move with caution than with speed didn't help much either in terms of time. But here they were, under the moon light. The location Nero described to them.

"This the place?" Mordred asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked around the riverbank. George hummed, holding the letter up, before pocketing it again with a nod. Ritsuka tilted his head. The river was quite vast and rather beautiful, untouched by the industry that didn't exist in this Singularity. The pebbles and rocks seemed quite nice and with the water cooling the air down even further, it was a nice night breeze brushing against his face. However, he thought with a frown... Nothing that looked like it was hiding a Demon Pillar. No grand temple, no underground cave, no individual that decided to unleash the Pillar they might be housing for some reason. Just the three of them, and the river. Did Nero make a mistake? Or were they just not looking hard enough.

A sudden reflection of light from the corner of his eyes caused him to turn towards the river. What was that? It certainly wasn't the moon. He squinted his eyes, leaning forward a bit. Hm. There might be something in the distance, but he wasn't sure if he was actually seeing something or if it were his eyes playing tricks on him. He snapped his fingers and pointed forward.

"Guys, do you see something over there?"

The two knights moved to one of his sides respectively, leaning forward as well. While they didn't have the eyes of an Archer, they were still Heroic Spirits, and thus had way better senses than him. Just as expected, Mordred whistled, arms crossed as she leaned back again.

"Well I'll be damned." She tilted her head, letting out a grunt. "It's an island."

"I believe it even has a mansion on it." George rubbed his chin in thought. "Perhaps that's what Nero was referring to."

It would be a good spot for the base of operations if the enemy was there. Far off from the city too. Still, it could always be a bait. A red herring. Looking at the water, he remembered Agartha and its underwater kingdom they were at before. Humming in thought, he pointed at it.

"Hm. Or it could be under-"

Just as he was about to say it, the ground shifted in an all too familiar way, much to Ritsuka's frustration. Yet again, the area around them moved in an unnatural matter and yet again, George was separated from them, walls rising around him while a sort of block rose from underneath him. Meanwhile the forming walls and moving grounds tried to seperate him from Mordred, but she reacted and moved fast enough to just break through it and hook her arm with his. Just as George attempted to do the same however, about to jump down and join them, something wrapped around his leg. His eyes widened as his head snapped at it, but then the deadly green tendril, covered in red eyes, ripped him from the ground.

"George!" Ritsuka yelled after up, but by then, he was already dragged over the sea. Mordred held him back as he pushed against her to no avail, his teeth gritted in agony as he saw his servants being kidnapped just like that.

"This was almost too easy. I didn't expect it to work, quite frankly."

He slowly turned his head to the writhing mass of tendrils. Then, slowly shifting away, it revealed the Demon Pillar in all its glory, silently staring at them. And right in front of it? Sitting on a throne, lying on top of the Pillar's body?

"Caster...!" Ritsuka growled as Mordred moved in front of him, protecticaly moving her left arm to shove him back a bit, her other arm readying Clarent with its tip directed at Caster. The enemy sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. Crossing her leg, she raised an eyebrow, lazily twirling her left hand as she looked down upon them like she would look at insects.

"Didn't your parents teach you to watch out for random letters?" She asked in a sarcastic tone. "Then again, you got what you were looking for. You should thank me for that, really."

She snapped her finger and the eyes began to glow. Immediately Mordred pushed him back before raising her sword, the stars themselves seemingly shooting down their light in furious anger. However, as the vine like tendrils lashed out at her with the starlight, Ritsuka couldn't help but frown. For one, Caster was content just sitting there, even going so far as to ignoring him as she hummed to herself, her cheek resting on her right knuckle. Another thing was that the Demon Pillar felt... off.

"Why isn't it saying anything... ?" He muttered. Normally they would've at least introduced themselves, made some grand speech about their motives. Instead, its eyes focused on Mordred itself, mindlessly attacking her without a care. On top of that, he began to notice a... pattern. Like it was an automatic process of tendrils, light, tendrils over and over again. While it was fast, it wasn't anything Mordred couldn't handle.

"What the hell, that thing is a joke!" The knight shouted, scoffing dismissively as she weaved around the attacks. Then with a growl, she exploded towards Caster, Clarent high above her head as she jumped. At that, the Emperor merely rolled her eyes in exasperation, not moving from her throne at all.

"Hmph. Fine."

She straightened up her back and with a snap motion, she crossed her arms, hands formed as if they were dragging strings through the air. A shiver went down his spine and he rolled forward, trusting his instincts. Next thing he knew, he was flying through the air as something exploded behind him. Coughing as the dust got into his air ways, he hissed at the pain the rocks caused on his skin as he more or less ground over the river bed. As he shook his head, he heard Mordred scream in pain before another crash sounded. He winced. As the dust cleared, he looked up, seeing two tendrils moving in absolute harmony with Caster's arms. Then, as if they lost strength, they dropped down as she angled her arms after uncrossing them. With a snap of her fingers, she narrowed her eyes slightly, sneering down on them. Next thing Ritsuka knew, he felt arms wrap around him before being carried away in an explosive movement.

Rubbing his forehead to get the dizziness out of it, he felt himself being put down gently on his feet. Once his vision cleared again, two things caused him to widen his eyes in shock. First, Mordred bled. It was nothing dangerous, merely blood being spat up from the hit she suffered, if the dent in her armor, that was already starting to fade, was anything to go by. Second, the poison that ate through the rock as if it was hot water on ice. He gulped. He was not sure he'd survive that. Still, shaking the thought aside, he pressed his lips together as he stared at the Demon Pillar and the servant sitting on it. The former seemed to become limb, ceasing to move every single eye and muscle it might have. Caster on the other hand yawned dramatically, before putting her left hand on her chest while using her right to gesture around her.

"Now then, you look confused, so let this Emperor explain to you what she knows! Then you can tell me why you are here!"

The master of Chaldea blinked before his eyes widened in realization. He opened his mouth, before forcing it shut. No. Not now. First let her monologue. He could deal with the information from his insight later. Caster pointed down at the foundation of her throne, tilting her head coyly.

"This is Stolas." A small giggle escaped her as she covered her mouth. "Or whatever is left of it."

"What?"

At their utter disbelief, she only laughed out loud, shaking her head at their seeming stupidity. Still, it just didn't make sense in his head. Demon Pillars were a massive threat that couldn't be beaten alone at all, unless one was a complete monster like Beast Kiara. They made Chaldea's life a living hell and it took a lot to take them down every time... and now she implied that this one was already 'gone'?

"Well, it isn't much of a tool if it has its own will, correct? So I had to deal with that," she explained offhandedly, waving her hand dismissively. Then, she clapped her hands together, a satisfied sigh escaping from her mouth. "Now its the foundation of my empire and has been doing a great service for me ever since! It has quite the synergy with me. Improving my insight, my poisonous art... it's like the gods gifted it to me!"

She threw her head back, a loud laugh that didn't fit a noble lady like her. As if overcome by her own pride, she just had to let the world know of her own "fortune". Mordred snarled, taking a step forwards as she pointed at Caster with narrowed eyes.

"You wanna tell me that thing is brain dead?!"

"It was quite easy." Caster closed her eyes, leaning back with a wistful expression. "It was so... vulnerable. So open to suggestions and my... gifts." She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "It planned something along the lines of 'helping the enemy' out of spite but I didn't much care for that." She opened her eyes and leaned forward, both of her hands under her chin as she licked her lips with a seductive smile. "But I needed its power."

"How could you do something like that?"

The horrified question left his mouth before he could even process it. But he just couldn't help it. Even if they tried to destroy humanity as they knew it... Nobody deserved to completely lose themselves. Not even them. Ritsuka grit his teeth when he was met with an face of utter confusion.

"You ask that about your own enemy?" She sighed dramatically before standing up. Spreading her arms out, she raised her eyebrow in a mocking manner. "What pillar talks back to you? What pillar has its own will?" She put her hands on her chest, leaning forward in emphasis with an almost angry snarl. "A pillar is there to support the foundation of your palace, the center of your reign! Just like the nobles I have wrapped around my finger! Just like the rats crawling in the dirt!" She took a calming breath before letting herself fall on her throne again, crossing her legs as she did so while putting up her smile once more. "And this thing has served quite well in that regard."

"All that effort for what?" Ritsuka asked quietly before anger was filling his chest and he gestured at the city behind him. "What do you get out of all this?! The Singularity, fighting us?!"

For a while, Caster just stared at him. Then, to his surprise, she slumped slightly down on her throne with a deep sigh, seemingly aging a lot as her eyes appeared to look... tired.

"Do you ever wish you could fix your mistakes in the past?" She muttered, more to herself than to them. "To redo your life, knowing that this time, it would be different?"

"So no incarnation, like with Abel."

"Of course not," she replied to Mordred's statement with a scoff, at the same time confirming the suspicion as well. She shook her head as she lazily twirled her hand at the air in front of her. "I do not care for these times. I just want to return…" Suddenly, in a burst of anger and energy, she slammed her right fist down on the right arm of her throne with a loud snarl. "And put history back on its proper course!"

Ritsuka stared at her before shaking his head slowly. That was her reason? Risking everything just to relive her old glory days? Because she was stuck in the past? He pointed at her, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"You won't get away with this!"

"I would be richer beyond imagination for every gold coin I heard that sentence," Caster said dramatically, shaking her head with a sigh in disappointment. Casually, she checked her finger nails, before glancing at them with a mocking smile, her voice barely a whisper. "Not to mention... I already did."

"What the fuck are you talkin' about?!" Mordred shouted, just as confused as she was while making sure he didn't leave his side, never having stopped searching for an opening to attack. Chidingly, Caster shook her index finger at them, letting out a few "tsks" as she did so.

"Well, wouldn't you want to know?" She took a deep breath and crossed her arms as she straightened up on her throne. "Let me ask you... where are my servants?"

The realization hit him and Mordred like a sledgehammer. This was bait after all. But not to kill them, for some reason, but to distract them! In order to get the real targets, which were-

"Go on. Leave."

The two of them snapped their heads towards her, who grinned widely at them, mockingly, unable to suppress the dirty chuckle escaping her as she tilted her head at them.

"Wha-"

"I am feeling generous for now," Caster interrupted Ritsuka, gesturing at them with her right hand. "Enjoy a moment of reprieve. A chance to... reconsider." She raised her hands with a smirk after a snort escaped her. "After all, I have already won!"

He wanted to swipe it off her face. He really wanted to. Even use a command seal to make Mordred blast her. She could do it right now. There were no hostages in the way. Even with a Demon Pillar, she wouldn't be able to take it head on unscathed. But... But... !

Their faces smiled at them in his mind. His hands curled into fists. He already knew his decision, foolish as it was. Glancing at Mordred, he felt pain starting to grow in his palms as he took a shaky breath. Droplets of water touched his skin and he realized it was starting to rain.

"Let's go," he said quietly, but with determination. Mordred stared at him in disbelief, before fletching her teeth and snapping her head back towards Caster, Clarent already crackling with red lightning.

"Like hell I'm just-"

"Mordred. Please."

At his quiet voice, she turned to him once again. Then, with struggle visible in her face, she glanced back at Caster, before turning back to him. With a scream of frustration, she let Clarent disappear before flinging him over her shoulder. As her legs tensed up, Caster's poisonous voice entered his ears, the whisper passing through the rain.

"Yes, run, little mice, run."

It began to pour down on him when Mordred moved, the flood of water hitting his face and hiding his tears of frustrations. He could only hope he didn't make the wrong choice just now. That going after Okita wasn't a mistake.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Apex**

_Breathing heavily, he spat to the side, the irony taste of blood leaving his mouth, if just a little bit. A growl escaped him as he threw the sword to the side. Great. Now he needed a new one. A savage grin appeared on his face as he moved over to the fallen, bloody, yet fully intact weapon nearby. It was a bit too big, that sword, but it fit him just well. Sharp enough and he felt first hand how much damage the big boy could do. Tapping it a few times, he slung it over his shoulder, cracking his neck in satisfaction. Just as he was about to leave however, a pathetic groan sounded behind him. Glancing back, he narrowed his eyes at the blood stained giant, barely breathing with all the cuts and broken bones he had._

_The giant stared at him with his open eye, tears running out of it. More than they already did, once he actually laid an eye on the weapon he just lost. The monster closed its eye in agony, slowly shaking his head._

_"W-why... " The giant whispered, fully realizing that he was not going to get any help. "You... you promised you'd spare me if I surrendered my weapon... "_

_The man just raised an eyebrow before spitting to the side in disgust._

_"I am." A smirk appeared on his face as he pointed at the sword on his back. "Yer gonna die a natural death, no worries. I'm respectin' that oath I made." Growling slightly, he crossed his arms, leaning forward. "What, ya think I was gonna save you? Good joke."_

_"P-please... "_

_The fucking gall. The warrior snarled, stepping forward. Then, ignoring the horror in the giant's eyes, he stomped his right foot on his head, causing the inhuman being to scream in agony once more._

_"Ya tried to kill me and then pretend ya didn't?" The man whispered quietly before putting on more pressure with a deep breath as he showed his teeth. "Stop whinin'."_

_"Do-do you have... no honor... ?!" The giant gasped for air, trying to move his arms to make his tormentor stop. Yet he already lost too much strength and all that was left were mocking yellow eyes staring at him like he was dirt. "You... you won't get away with this insult!"_

_"Sure am." The man chuckled stepping away as he spread his arms in demonstration. "Only one here. I'll just say ya defied me til the end." Guwawwing at his own story, he shook his head as he pointed at the giant. "Not even a lie, really."_

_"W-why…?!"_

_Pah. Definitely losing too much blood. Without deeming it an answer, he got on his horse and began to ride away, tuning out the annoying buzz that were the giant's dying words. What was its name again? Fuck, he couldn't remember. He was just gonna name that weak annoying dumbass after the weapon he just stole or something._

_Heat dwelled up in his chest when he recalled what the giant asked him._

_Why. As if it wasn't fucking obvious. Why would he do anything? It was so simple, yet people just had to piss him off over and over by questioning it._

_He was the strongest. He could do anything. Anyone who tried to defy him, who tried to disrespect him would have to die. It just made sense like that. After all... He had the title of king for a reason!_

Yet again, George was at a beach. But this time, he was alone on the sand, located on an island that was cut off from his allies. Crossing the distance would require some time, even as a servant. Time that was fatal if a Demon Pillar was involved. Not to mention, even from this distance, he could tell that his master and Mordred were under attack. He grit his teeth before taking a calm breath. No. The enemy wouldn't have just dragged him over here just to prevent him from getting to them. He was here to be-

"Look at that, she didn't actually lie to me for once."

George froze up for a moment before slowly turning around. There he sat. His intended executioner. Saber of Cologne, shoulders hunched as he seemed to stare at the ground while his arms rested on his knees, sitting on a stair as if he waited for hours. Behind him, the mansion, lighted up that they could see it from aware. A part of him was confused that it looked rather... tame for what he believed Caster's personality was like. Yes, it looked like it belonged to a noble, but it appeared to be too relaxing. Too much like a vacation home. No pompous gold or marble. Just simple soft colors and architecture.

A loud yawn escaped Saber as he stood up, rolling his shoulders as he stared impassionately at George.

"So she picked ya?" He sighed as he cracked his neck a few times. "Oh well, you'll do I guess."

"Are you certain you wish to fight me without a weapon?" George asked as he unsheathed Ascalon as his opponent slowly and lazily walked down the stairs. His eyes never left his opponent, scrutinizing every detail he could see. Perhaps he might slip some information too if h

"Yeah. Pretty sure." He cracked his knuckles with a scoff. "This shit is all I need."

George couldn't help but frown. Where was this confidence coming from? While he most likely held back against him and Okita, and even against Mordred later on, George did not see a hint of Saber being so much more powerful that his bare hands could defeat him. He was not a proud person, but the saint didn't hold the title of "guardian knight" for nothing. Still, as sweat ran down his neck, he decided to trust that wariness from his instincts. Tightening his grip on his sword, he took a deep breath.

"I am not that easy to take down."

"Uhuh."

That was the only warning he got when Saber moved an almost animalistic scream, much, much faster than he ever did before. George's eyes widened, as he saw a right fist aiming at his face. Steeling his entire body, he moved Ascalon at the same time, intending to time the swing to cut off the hand at the same time. But the fist stopped short, the steel barely touching it as it passed by. At the same time, the air left George's lungs as he heard and felt the crack in his stomach. Jumping back as quickly as he could to avoid his rips from breaking completely, he coughed before taking a deep breath despite the pain. Saber shook his left hand a bit, sucking in air through his teeth before rolling his head a bit with his lips pressed together.

"Gotta admit. Ya tough." His voice turned into a growl as he leaned forward, letting his arms hang loosely around, not a hint of a guard to be seen. "But that's it."

"I have more than that," George muttered, holding his sword up in a defensive manner. That Mana Burst was better than Mordred's, if he had to compare it. The power and speed behind that strike was enough to fracture his rips. Still, he wasn't done yet. He just couldn't afford to hold back anything anymore. With that in mind, he rushed forward, energy surging through Ascalon. While he wasn't an aggressive fighter, he needed to open a weakness if he wanted to win.

Easier said than done however. Even without any armor or weapons, he avoided any hits. His swiftness as he dodged with his upper body, the speed he granted himself as he weaved around him, making George lose sight of him more than once, only his instincts defending him from lethal damage and the energy coating his limbs, used to strike away at his sword and at him. Quite frankly, with the amounts of hits he almost took, harder than Berserker ever could, while also precise and focused, George would've suffered from a lot of cripplin injuries by now. His instinct let him barely keep up his guard, but Saber's own insight was far superior than his, able to bait out his own instincts.

Still, thanks to Ascalon, he could avoid the damage that was the strike against his face. A haymaker, landing directly on his right cheek. It struck true. The force made his head snap away. Yet there was no pain, no injury. Saber's eyes widened as George merely kicked him away as he overextended, before stabbing after him with his Noble Phantasm. Yet, instincts or insight, he was already ducking away, before widening the distance between them. As his opponent growled, George couldn't help but narrow his eyes in thought. Almost had him. But he needed more. Ascalon could diminish the blows he could take, but it took too much energy to be used in the long run.

He needed to tip the scales now. With that in thought, he took a deep breath. It was risky. Using up so much energy at once. But he didn't have much of a choice here. A long game was favoring Saber, who was already bursting forward again.

"**Bayard**!"

His steed materialized immediately in front of him. So fast, that not even Saber could dodge it as his eyes widened in surprise. With righteous fury, the horse tackled the enemy away with great force, flinging him against the stairs. Swiftly, George jumped onto his horse, twirling Ascalon for a moment before pointing it at the dust cloud in front of him. With a small cough, Saber walked out of it, his pupils seemingly narrowing into slits. Was it a trick of the light? George didn't know nor did he actually care. All he focused on was taking down his opponent, who licked his lips with a feral grin.

"That horse better be shootin' lightning at me or else ya really blueballin' me here, asshole!"

After his yell, he rushed at him, not caring for the cavalry advantage George held. Well. The saint wasn't one to leave his opponent waiting. With a tap of his legs, he and Bayard moved forward as well. This time, he had the upper hand. His partner made up for any sudden moves that he missed, forcing Saber to move carefully in a sense. He still moved fast and wildly, but his attacks reduced in quantity. After all, once he tried to attack Bayard, Ascalon cut away at his skin even if he tried to move away. Jumping at him on the other hand caused Bayard to stand on its back legs and kick Saber right in the face with his hooves, smashing him into the ground before he rolled away. George nodded to himself. He could feel the effect Ascalon did to his enemy. The dragon attribute was applying to him. Which meant he only needed a good opening to use the full might of-

"You really are the shittiest servant that dumb shit could've taken with him."

The comment threw him off, as Saber pushed his hair back, mixed with the blood as he stared at him in utter disappointment. He let out a long suffering sigh and it made George's hair stand up on his skin. Immediately, he urged Bayard to move with the maximum speed. Raising Ascalon, he concentrated his power. Alas... it was too late.

A sword materialized in Saber's hand. It was much shorter than the one he had before, a weapon between a regular sword and a long knife. It had no guard at all, merely a golden handle with some marking he couldn't make out. The silver edge gleamed at the moon light, revealing the black color separating the two edges. Eyes wide, he saw as the man held the blade high in the sky with both of his hands. As quick as he could, he stopped short with his horse as the man took a step forward, intending to swing it down. But as he stabbed at his head, he realized his mistake.

The blade was gone. With his hands free, he clapped them together, squishing Ascalon between them. A sudden twist later and he felt himself pulled forward, ruining his balance. In that moment, he blasted past him, into the air. Kicking himself off against Bayard's head, the horse spitting blood from the force, he grabbed his weapon in the air. In his dead angle, George could only rely on his instincts to twist his body as much as he could, while forcing Bayard to move his head even more than it already did. Meanwhile, he felt his energy drain, invoking Ascalon's invincibility.

Yet the pain still happened. His eyes widened, glancing down on his left arm. Time slowed down, as he witnessed the blade piercing through his arm with some resistance, which was ignored by the force behind it. Even as Ascalon's light covered him. Then, the sword touched the ground and sand exploded, throwing him and Bayard away. He hissed as Bayard landed somewhat safely on the ground. But the whine of his partner made his heart drop. A gash was across its neck. Not too deep, but the fact that it was still present shook him to his core.

His defense failed against that sword, no, that Noble Phantasm that completely disappeared into the ground, that seemingly ignored most of his defenses as if half of them weren't there. Rain began to fall on them, when the sword was casually picked up by Saber. A chuckle escaped him before it exploded into a manic laughter.

"Man, always nice to see that change in your face!" He shook his head, taking George's pained expression in as he let his weapon scratch the sand as he paced around. "So confident in your... invincibility. Shows how fucking weak you types really are. Big talk but the second I pull this out, you surrender!" He growled, steam coming out of him as he pointed at the distant city of Cologne. "Those other Sabers? At least they make it fun. Quick monkey got some skill. That other knight? Finally some good shit." He pointed the tip of his weapon at him with a snarl. "But you? You're just a meat bag!"

Those were the words of an arrogant man. Empty in purpose and filled with meaningless anger. Yet those very same words had meaning to George. It dawned on him, as his eyes widened.

It dawned on him who Saber was. In an instance, he made up his mind. Reeling his arm back, he took a deep breath, even as the other one burned.

"**Infectum Dracones**!"

A spear formed in his hand, materializing from Ascalon. The man smirked dismissively, tilting his head slightly. Then his eyes widened when he noticed the angle wasn't correct. Before he could stop George, it was already finished. The energy hit the ground, dust was thrown up, and the Rider urged Bayard to create as much distance as he could between them and the enemy.

"Hide and seek? NOT IN THE FUCKIN' MOOD FOR THAT!"

He ignored the coughing and screaming of his opponent. He ignored the surge of even more power from him, the heat that increased in the vicinity. All George cared for was getting the letter out he had. With a hiss, he touched his shoulder, dragging his finger over the wound. Then, leaning forward, he covered the paper with his body.

He barely had enough time to write it down when he felt the energy close in like a meteorite. Jumping off his ride, he pocketed the letter in a safe place. He looked Bayard in the eyes, a moment of trust between them. The eyes reflected him, filled with sadness. With a soft smile, he patted the horse before turning away from him.

"Go."

Without hesitation, his partner rushed over the sea, magical energy surging as it rode over the waves. In that instant, he could barely deflect the sword that was meant to take his head, Ascalon grinding against it as it pushed while he leaned back. Saber growled, twirling its blade as the blood was washed away on it. George touched his forehead, feeling the hot fluid on his fingers. The enemy glanced behind him, eyes narrowed at the fleeing target.

"I don't know what the fuck that was about, but like hell I'm goin'-"

George spread his arms open, eyes filled with determination. Saber blinked before shaking his head in exasperation.

"Fuckin' seriously?" He asked quietly. When George refused to say anything, Saber grit his teeth before cracking his neck. "Fine, have it yer fuckin' way!"

The ferocity Saber used was greater than any other. Pure heat and anger battered away at George. It was only natural the saint was getting overwhelmed, with only one good arm and having sent away his horse. His defenses were weakened in the face of that sword of his. But still, even if it was futile in the end to fight back, even if he was losing this fight... Saint George fought, screaming in defiance.

No matter the strikes. The pain. No matter the steel that cut away at him, slowly but surely as he tried his best to survive. Even if his strikes barely hit, even if his strikes barely hurt due to the Saber's inherent toughness... George didn't cease moving.

He didn't cease moving when the rain stopped.

He didn't cease moving when the ground was soaked full with his blood.

He would not fade away until the sun would shine already, with a man left standing that seemed at the verge of passing out of sheer effort, his sword dropped on the ground as his arms shook like a newborn baby.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Catching Up Part 1**

_The Shieikan Dojo, learning place of the Tennen Rishin-ryu sword style. Edo, Japan. The year was 1857. It was a hot summer day, as the crickets sang non stop. Honestly it got a little bit on her nerves. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, the fifteen year old Okita grinned at her beaten opponent. Yet another victory to Okita! She didn't even feel winded at all, jumping up and down a bit. Her happiness didn't last long when sensei slapped her over the head, causing her to whine a bit. How was it her fault anyway? With her buddies, Hijikata-san and Kondou-san being on errands, she had to pass the time in some way!_

_As if hearing her prayers, the kami decided to throw her a bone that day. A rich noble man entered the building, wiping the sweat off his mustached face with dramatic exhaustion. Next to him was a beautiful woman that took Okita's breath away for a moment. Shining white hair, deep red eyes and actually wearing the same training outfit she had, white in color. The woman, somewhere around twenty years old, was the pinnacle of calm, merely giving her apparent lord a polite smile. She didn't even seem to be sweating that much either. Okita's eyes moved to her hip, widening when they spotted the weapon on it. Oh, a samurai! Awesome!_

_"Hosokawa-sama. A great honor to have you here," sensei said, bowing to the lord. The lord waved him at him dismissively while letting out a kind laugh._

_"Oh, the honor is mine." He spread his arms open at the dojo. "It isn't often that I get to visit this legendary place after all!"_

_Okita and her fellow students couldn't help but feel a bit bashful at his words. She giggled a bit, scratching her right cheek as her face flushed a bit. Hearing it outloud was actually kind of embarrassing. But hey, that meant they were super famous! Great!_

_"What is the purpose of your visit, if I might ask?" Sensei asked, causing the lord to clear his throat as he gestured towards the woman accompanying him._

_"I was hoping this retainer of mine might reveal some of your skills... ?"_

_"Kawakami Gensai. A pleasure," she replied in a smooth voice. Sensei pressed his lips together, not quite sure what to do. After all, he wasn't the leading authority on such things. Normally the rules said that not anyone can just train in their dojo. However, Okita was pals with Kondou-san! He'd understand, right? With that in mind, she raised her hand as she jumped up and down filled with giddiness._

_"Oh! Oh! Oh! Sensei, can I fight?!"_

_Ignoring the glares she received, she could barely contain her excitement, practically vibrating in the air. Sensei sighed, rubbing his forehead before smiling awkwardly at their guests._

_"Apologies. Souji-kun is... easily excited."_

_"No offense taken." Gensai covered a mouth as she giggled a bit. "I find it quite endearing actually." She put her katana away, bowing gracefully. "I agree to this."_

_Suffice to say... it was the most fun Okita had for a long time, during those days.  
_

Okita couldn't help but whistle. With all the Western, or rather Roman, buildings, she did not expect this Japanese tea house to exist here, in between the other buildings. It was actually kind of jarring, to be honest. But she felt enough nostalgia to ignore that contrast and the fact that a bunch of drugged up hostages were stumbling around. With a deep breath, she moved the curtains aside and entered. Taking off her sandals at the entrance, she stepped onto the wooden floor and slowly looked around. Not that there was much to look around for, since it was just one big room. Flowers and Japanese writings decorated the walls and a small shrine was behind the woman awaiting her with closed eyes, sitting in a perfect kneeled position, a tea set lying in front of her. Okita smiled lightly as she waved at her.

"Senpai! Yo!"

"Souji-kun." Gensai nodded with a small smile. "It's been a while."

"How long did it take to build this?" Okita asked, looking around. The wood even felt Japanese. How much time did she need for this? In response, her host chuckled as she folded her hands on her lap.

"These Roman soldiers work fast if you ask nicely enough." Politely, she gestured for the pillow in front of her, on the opposite side of her tea set. "Please. Sit down."

Doing exactly that, mirroring her senpai's posture, Gensai took a deep breath. Then, she began the tea ceremony. As always, she seemed to be the pinnacle of perfection. With the ease of breathing, she moved her tools as if they were an extension of her body. The cloth used to clean her utensils. The pouring of the hot water. The movements of the ladle. Not an apparent waste of movement. However, Okita couldn't help but frown. It only seemed to be that way. With her eyes, heightened as a Heroic Spirit, she could see faint vibrations on Gensai's body. She seemed more tense than usual, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. So when she received the tea and took a sip, she couldn't say she was surprised by the taste. Smacking her lips, she put the cup down, a wry smile on her face.

"It's really missing that calming effect, senpai."

"I see," Gensai sighed. With her eye closed, she bowed, her forehead touching the ground. "My apologies."

Okita pressed her lips together before taking another sip from her tea. As always, she was always so hard on herself, no matter what she did. May it be losing in a match or doing house work. Shaking her head, she shrugged, trying to look nonchalantly.

"It's alright. Would be weird if you were... unshaken, I guess?" She wiggled her hand a bit. "What with being controlled."

Blinking at herself, Okita frowned. God, spending so much time with Nobu and Chacha really made her lose her touch. 'What with being controlled', pinnacle of tactness! A snort escaped from Gensai, causing her to look up again. A sad expression was on her face, as the Manslayer looked down at the reflection on the water.

"If you say it like this, it must be true." She took a long sip from her own tea before narrowing her eyes in displeasure. "After all, my memories are somewhat hazy at times."

"So Caster-"

"Is an unpleasant woman, yes, but that is not here and now," she interrupted Okita. Putting on a polite smile, she nodded at her guest. "Right now, I want to talk with you while my mind is clear." She pointed at the cup, tilting her head. "More tea?"

The servant of Chaldea nodded, accepting the offer. As it was poured in, Gensai pressed her lips together, as if in thought. After leaning back, finishing the task as the host, she folded her hands on her lap, waiting for Okita to finish taking a drink yet again. Once she did so, the Assassin of Cologne sighed.

"I suppose your comrade's words made my heart waver a bit." She pointed at herself with a wry smile. "Hence my current performance. It's an excuse, but also an explanation."

"Did Mordred-san say something mean?" Okita asked, eyes narrowed. Ally or not, sometimes the knight could be really hurtful, even if she didn't mean it. Downside of being younger that she looked like, probably. Not that she knew exactly how that whole soul and body thing actually worked. But to her surprise, her senpai shook her head.

"Oh no." Licking her lips, she looked up at the ceiling, eyes becoming unfocused. "She merely pointed something out." Her voice began to become quiet. "Why wasn't I upset? After all, I always despised duels."

When Okita didn't say anything, quietly and respectfully paying attention, her senpai looked her into the eyes with a tired look.

"Even at the dojo, I considered sparing as just playing with toys. It wasn't the real fight. There was no risk. It was just... an act to raise once ego." She shook her head at her own words. "I understand its value, to gain some sort of experience, but in the end, it was nothing compared to real life and death situations. It was too easy. More tedious than challenging." A small smile returned to her face, her face actually brightening up a bit. "Remember our first duel, Souji-kun?"

How could she ever forget. Puffing her chest out, she put her hands on her hips, a smug expression on her face.

"I knocked you down with one hit!" Okita announced proudly. She could spot the twitch in senpai's eyebrow, relishing in that crack of her mask. With a deep breath, Gensai drank from her tea, before putting on a fake smile on her face.

"And I did the same in return, but that isn't important." Uhuh. She sent her senpai an unimpressed look as she crossed her arms. Gensai clicked her tongue before looking down, the mood becoming more serious once more. "What is important is that I just didn't feel motivated. I underestimated you." She bit her lip in thought. "So I don't understand why I didn't feel the same against your ally... "

"It's really simple though?"

As Okita tilted her head in confusion, Gensai blinked, looking up as she was about to take another sip once more.

"Excuse me?" She asked with a dumbfounded expression. Chidingly, Okita raised two fingers with a grin.

"Two reasons! Sure, you might have been bored with other people, but you can't fake a smile like you had when we fought properly!" She crossed her arms, nodding to herself. "I think you were just disappointed at being alone on your hill, that's all! You don't hate fights, you hate easy fights!" Snapping her fingers, she pointed at Gensai. "Which is why you also enjoyed fighting Mordred-san!"

For a moment, the enemy servant just stared at her with wide eyes, as if processing what she said. Then, slowly, she lowered her head, a thoughtful expression pointed at the ground.

"Hm. Perhaps you are right," she muttered to herself. Looking up, she let out an impressed hum. "You really have grown during the time we were separated."

"Oi, it sounds like you thought I was dumb," Okita said with a pout. The fact that her senpai looked away, humming innocently, caused her to puff up her cheeks even more. The gall! Giggling at her expression, Gensai took a deep breath to calm her features once more. Then she blinked, before tilting her head.

"What was the second thing?"

"Oh right." Raising her thumb, she grinned widely at her senpai. "You're a good person! No need to be so hard on yourself!"

"Truly... " Gensai whispered, her hair covering her eyes for a moment. When Okita blinked, leaning forward, her eyes widened when a hand touched her cheek, gently caressing it. A coy smile was directed at her, as Gensai's stroked her slowly. "Perhaps if we had stayed together longer, I would have definitely made you mine."

"Eh?" Okita felt her face explode in heat as she backed off, touching her cheek as she created some distance between them. "Ehhhhhh?!"

What was this surprise Yuri plot?! Wait, it wasn't much of a surprise, Gensai was married!...What was this NTR plot?! She wasn't into that! To quote Altera, it was bad civilization! Laughing at her reaction, Gensai tilted her head, her hand on her own cheek now.

"What can I say? You are just so precious!" To Okita's relief, Gensai sighed as she shook her head. "But I am a faithful woman. I can't cheat on my wife like that. Teiko-chan deserves nothing but absolute commitment."

Oh. Good.

"Then again, if I get the chance to ask her... "

Okita shot up, face red again as she crossed her arms. Nope, even if that was better than actually cheating, nope nope nope!

"I don't want to be part of your harem!" She shouted in defiance. Letting out a long "oh", Gensai put her finger on her lips, a wide teasing smile directed at Okita.

"Oh, so your heart is already taken?"

"I don't wanna talk about my love life, senpai!" The Saber huffed, crossing her arms with red cheeks. What was she, that annoying neighbor lady that kept teasing her like a surrogate niece?...Not that in accurate, what with the age gap, but still! Grumbling, she crossed her legs as she set down again, all while Gensai kept laughing at her. After a while, Okita had to giggle as well. It was like a virus. Still, slowly but surely, their breathing calmed down... and with that the realization that this was it.

This had been nice. Just sitting around, drinking tea. Joking around a bit. While the topic wasn't exactly that happy, it was good to know senpai was still senpai. But... she was here for a reason. The two of them were. Gensai was the first to let out a sigh, shoving the tea set away before folding her hands on her lap.

"We won't get around this. You know that."

"Yeah... alright, let's do this." Rolling her shoulders, Okita leaned forward with crossed arms. "Why?"

"We want to fulfill our wishes. All of us. Even Berserker did." She twirled her hand towards the outside, the sun long gone by now, before pointing at her own guest. "I was told it was needed to defeat Chaldea. To gather the energy needed for our wishes."

"And that would be?" Okita frowned. "Do you want to redo history?"

"Oh no. I don't." Gensai chuckled lightly at her kouhai's surprised face. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I accept that my side, and thus my ideals, lost at the time. And with the knowledge the grail granted me about current times, while I don't quite approve about the way my homeland has developed, at least they stand tall once again. Not a mere slave to the world."

"Wait, what's your wish then?"

Slowly, Gensai opened her eyes. Glancing down, she lightly rubbed the handle of her blade before turning back to Okita with steel in her eyes.

"Incarnation."

The captain of the Shinsengumi blinked. Digging her finger into her ear, she tried to get some dirt out of it, but found nothing. In the end, she had to accept that what she heard was correct, even though it was the last thing she had expected. The same wish as Berserker? Abel? Really? At her confused expression, Gensai just nodded once more in confirmation.

"Dead people can't change, Souji-kun," she began to explain quietly, regret tinting her voice. "No matter how hard I would try now... it doesn't matter. My life is over. My legend is written." She grit her fists while letting out a shaky breath. "I will never complete this technique of mine. Whatever progress I'd be able to make, if at all, won't be passed on to the throne, from my understanding."

Okita leaned back a bit. Was she always this... obsessed? It must have been after they seperated, never meeting each other again. Her eyes narrowed when she realized what Gensai was referring to. After all, there was only one thing that made her famous. A technique that was inhuman, just like Okita's.

"Your Noble Phantasm?"

"Hm. Kyousei." Okita nodded, a content smile on her face as she looked up at the ceiling. "The one strike that made me famous... was the most important to me. I thought it was just a mere fluke, that sensation. Yet I strove to repeat it again and again, searching for that... well, one could call it high. That experience." Her smile fell when she made eye contact with Okita again. "Yet I never completed it. And I never will, in this state of mine."

"Unless you live again."

"I want to see it. The pinnacle of my path." Gensai gulped, trying to calm herself down as her eyes were wide, almost like a fanatic. "The ultimate sharing of breathing, just as one ceased to. To share that feeling of death and pure emotion, at any time, at any place."

"Do you really want that?" The words left her mouth before she realized it, filled with worry. Yet it was already too late. Gensai narrowed her eyes, glaring at her with a small growl escaping her.

"I am not a complete puppet. I know my wants."

"I don't know about that," Okita muttered, shaking her head. "You just…" She stopped herself. She didn't seem the type. The type to be so obsessed with a technique... unless she was desperate enough. Lied to herself in some way. But how could Okita just say that? She had no proof but her gut feeling and the memory of the past. A lot could've happened until their deaths. In the end, she let out a sigh, standing up with a soft smile. "Just... don't regret this, okay? No matter what happens."

"I can only promise to try," Gensai said in an even tone, looking a bit guilty at her small outburst. Putting her hand on her hilt, she stood up as well, mirroring the weak smile Okita had. "Shall we?"

With that, the two of them left the building. Not soon after, they walked underneath the moonlight, moving among the civilians who were nothing more than slaves.

"Didn't expect you to call me out at night," Okita commented, unsheathing her sword as they strolled through the streets. She glanced at her opponent, tapping away at her own weapon, which was still sheathed. "Your Noble Phantasm doesn't work right now, correct?"

"Not at full strength," Gensai admitted truthfully, to her surprise. A coy smile appeared on her face when they both came to a stop, eyeing each other for sudden movements. "And who knows, maybe you were right. Maybe I do want to test my skills with a worthy opponent instead of just granting you a swift death."

"Ho, you telling me you can't kill me quickly?" Okita asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. While a part of her was happy that her senpai reconsidered, just a little bit, the challenge did the job of riling her up a bit. Her body began to heat up, desiring to move. Judging from the anticipation in Gensai's eyes, she felt the same.

"We shall see," she muttered quietly. In synchronicity, they took their positions. Okita raised her sword next to her head, tip pointed at Gensai. Gensai on the other hand merely took a step forward, her hand resting on the sheathed sword's grip, lowering her center of gravity. Both took a deep breath at the same time.

"Ready?" Senpai asked, before Okita nodded, both of them cracking a wide smile.

"Go!"

In a flash, steel met steel, creating sparks and a sound of a titanic clash, their faces almost touching each other. Immediately after, the two of them backed off. The Shinsengumi captain couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation when the Manslayer disappeared in the masses. Alright, so they were not playing around. Fine. She'd have to drag her senpai out the hard way then!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Catching Up Part 2**

_She leaned against the wall, hidden in the shadows of the alley. Her eyes were closed as she practically hyperventilated, her blade still dripping blood on the ground as it pointed at it. Sweat was practically pouring out of every spot of skin she had and her legs shook, almost making her drop down. With all her strength, she opened her eyes, glancing at the commotion she had created. Panic. Fear. Anger. The emotions filled the sun filled air, as civilians stood in shock, muttering to each other, as the local police force rushed to the scene of the crime she had long escaped._

_Pushing herself off the wall, she knew she had to widen her distance. She dragged the katana over the ground as she stumbled away. She grit her teeth, trying to calm her breathing._

_What was that?_

_It started simple enough. Trail Sakuma Shozan, important politician of the "enemy side", kill him in broad day light, escape quickly. She didn't follow him long, merely trailing him for a few moments. Quite frankly, it wasn't the hardest mission she ever had. Out of, well, boredom, she decided to mimic his movements. The way he walked, exactly step for step. Then, she matched his breathing. When he inhaled, she inhaled. When he exhaled, she exhaled. Slowly but surely, she would get closer and closer... before unsheathing her blade. In that instance the impossible happened when her blade barely nicked him._

_He was already dead. Before she finished decapitating him, he was already dead. How would she know?_

_Gensai felt him die. The moment Sakuma Shozan's breath stopped, she felt her own breath stop. In that instance, she felt her entire body shut down as well and her soul leaving its host. It felt like an eternity, that sudden shock of nothingness, but it was only for a split second. Which led her to this point, stumbling into escape, a complete mess to her usual assassinations. It was sloppy. Witnesses saw her. But... that wasn't what was important. What was important was that she finished her mission and the phenomena that occured._

_That phenomena she yearned for, she realized._

_It was the first time she realized that she actually killed someone. A living being. The greatest in her eyes right now, for his life and this experience she just gave him. She shuddered, shakingly sheathing her sword before putting a hand on her face. No. Calm down. If she acted too suspicious, she might die. Not yet. Not only did Japan need her skills... she couldn't just stop with just a taste._

_She needed to experience that again. Perfect it. Find the pinnacle of the mountain she had found. It was the first time she truly felt she was actually alive and she wanted to keep feeling alive. With a wide smile, she moved on with a calm demeanor, her path decided for herself as she would fight for Japan's future._

/

Despite their reputation, assassins couldn't actually vanish in thin air. They were always there. At most, they could hide their presence... as the skill implied. But physically? They would exist. Senpai had it worst, as her skill didn't even hide her presence, it merely lowered it to that of a normal human being. Given that she had it active at all times... Okita had the same kind of advantage Mordred and George had with their instincts.

Okita exhaled slowly, relaxing her body. Her eyes moved faster than humanly possible, attempting to track Gensai's trademark outfit. It should stand out in the crowd, given how exotic it was in comparison. However, the manslayer was experienced with masses of people. Even with that 'weakness', Okita's eyes had a hard time tracking the blur that was her senpai. It was only a matter of time because of that until she lost her completely.

With her eyes that was. Her ears twitched. Her skin vibrated. The Saber smiled slightly before leaning to the side ever so slightly. Metal sang through the air and she could see her reflection on her opponent's sword. While it did graze her cheek more than she liked, she thought with a hiss as a bit of her flesh flew away, no real damage taken. It would've meant death normally, but this wasn't the normal circumstances Gensai would usually fight. Because of that, without hesitation she stabbed back. Hearing a gasp, Okita stopped her blade short, almost touching a civilian. Pulling her arm back, she cracked her neck.

It was a good thing they spoke for so long. In that time, she could get a proper read on her senpai. The aura she gave off, the sounds of her steps, heck, even her smell, if just a little bit. All of these little details wouldn't do much on their own. But combined with her, admittedly outdated, memories of Gensai, and each other, those details painted a picture that helped her predict her opponent. And while smart and insightful...

Okita's movement became shorter and shorter, saving more time for her counter attacks. Turn the body barely enough for the blade to nick her stomach, jump back while cutting at the source when the sword moved inwards to cut deeper into her flesh. Duck, dash forward, side step, receive a cut on her shoulder, slash away. Again and again, she avoided the blows of an assassin specialized for this kind of scenario.

Gensai was rather predictable once you survived long enough against her. It was quite "by the book" her blows. Aiming for her vitals. While it was close a few times, it wasn't enough. With the miniscule delays in between her attacks, she had enough time to gather the incoming data she received and process them in her mind. Of course this would have never worked out if it were day. She'd be already dead after the first attack. It kinda stung her pride a bit to have an advantage like this, but it was better than dying without even putting up a fight. Still, thanks to that weakness of Gensai, she started to adapt. The enemy's sword cut less and less away from her body. Even as her haori was getting ruined a bit, even as blood was running down her body at several places like her legs, thighs, arms, stomach or back... she was getting used to it. The attacks replaced her memories, updating the mental profile she had in mind. Until-

"Gagh!"

Her katana met resistance. It was only for a moment, but when she pulled back, as steeled aimed for her eyes, Okita couldn't suppress the smile on her face as she saw the blood on her blade, dripping on the ground. But then, a major surprise happened, which caused Okita to frown.

Gensai jumped up on the rooftop, touching the gash on her face with a shocked expression. Leaving her chosen battlefield so soon? If it were anyone else, she would've thought it was a trap. But this was her senpai. This wasn't like her at all. Curiosity overtook her, and as the clouds began to rumble, she jumped up as well. Standing on the rooftops of rows of buildings, they stared at each other as rain droplets began to fall. Gensai removed her hand from her face, staring at the red fluid being washed away by the sky's water. Her hair bangs covered her eyes, giving Okita just an unreadable expression.

Then for some reason, she began to laugh quietly. As Okita tilted her head, the manslayer took a deep breath, a genuine bright smile on her face as she looked at her.

"It's confusing. For a while, I thought only using my Noble Phantasm could give me that joy…" She put her hand above her heart, sighing wistfully. "Yet I just can't stop feeling this warmth in my chest fighting you. I never expected that to happen. It isn't quite comparable, but I can feel it growing, trying to reach it."

"Please don't flirt with me in mid battle," Okita said dryly, even if her face heated up a bit at that compliment. Still, a small smile was on her face as well as she tapped her shoulder with a sword, a bit annoyed at the water running over her face by now. Maybe her gut feeling was right after all. What her senpai's wish really was. Still, not the place and the time. Gensai pouted dramatically, eyes still covered by her bangs.

"Why not?" She sighed, glancing at her sheathed sword. "Ha... Trying the same thing over and over again doesn't appear to work out for me."

"You just have really bad matchups." Okita pointed at her cheek, the injury coincidentally at the same spot as on Gensai's face. "If this were day I'd be already eating the dirt."

"True, true. Perhaps it would've been smarter to wait until day... " She giggled lightly before rolling her shoulders. "But it felt wrong, actually. Besides, I made up my mind anyway."

"About what?" Okita asked, eyebrow raised in confusion. Her senpai responded by pushing her hair back, revealing her red eyes shining with excitement. To her shock, she decided to follow up on that… by unsheathing her sword. Holding it in both hands, it was a completely orthodox stance. Yet the air immediately changed around them. Most likely because Okita could at last actually feel Gensai's presence.

Not as a servant pretending to be a human. But as a servant revealing their nature as a manslayer. There was a sort of deranged tone to her smile and Okita could've sworn she saw an actual illusionary figure behind her. A beautiful woman, completely wide, whose face distorted into monstrous fangs, oozing killing intent.

That distraction almost caused her death right then in there. Without missing a beat, Gensai left an explosion in the air. One moment she stood there, the next her blade was already almost on her head. With panic, Okita brought her sword up, feeling her knees bend from the pressure as she was pushed down. Just as she was about to push back, the pressure disappeared, causing her balance to crumble a bit. The next thing Okita knew was pain flared up on her side. Almost instinctively, she turned her body, spinning with the arch of the blade as much as she could.

With that, the true exchange began. And Okita was on the back foot. The murderous intent was more distracting that she realized. The lack of it made her get used to it. The sudden change assaulted her senses, distracting her. On top of that…

Upper right forearm. Left thigh. Stomach. Head. Left side of her neck. Repeatedly, the sword cut away at targets, her own sword barely keeping up after she lost the initiative. It wouldn't have been so bad, if the delays she had were still present. But that was the thing.

The delays were gone. Which opened up moves she never saw Gensai ever do. A wide arc, creating a moon crescent as a upwards slash. An almost mindless flurry of stabs at her, focusing on quantity over quality. She even dug her katana into the ground and threw debris Okita as a distraction! The only upside from this sudden shift of attacking was that she no longer felt like getting hit with that edge would cut through her or her weapon like through better. Still, it was only a small mercy.

However. Taking a deep breath, Okita focused energy into her legs. Then, in a blur, she reappeared behind Gensai. The woman tensed up in surprise, before spinning around. This time however, unlike before, Okita guarded against it perfectly. Twisting her arm a bit, she blocked the attack as it pressed the Saber's katana into her arm. Then sliding against it, the blade cut a piece of Gensai's shoulder off. As she hissed in pain, backing off, Okita's footwork closed the distance completely.

Finally. She gotten used to that. Okita wouldn't be called a genius swordsman if she wasn't able to adapt in time. Still, they merely went into a stalemate. Their speeds increased, focusing on bleeding the other out. For each cut, the other desired to return two, three, four more. As the air was beginning to run out in their lungs, things became dirty. It was nothing like a duel in a dojo anymore.

Gensai smashed her head into into Okita's face. As her nose cracked and streamed out blood, the latter thanked the former for that gift with a kick against the knee. Recovering from the headbutt, the Saber would then lunge with her blade, only to be diverted by the other sword and then punched in the face. Stumbling back, she would bait out Gensai, before spinning around and ramming her elbow against the Assassin's rips.

Okita had no idea how long they were fighting. Minutes? Hours? But it felt like days. Her body ached. Her head felt dizzy. Her lungs burned, but in a good way this time. She had no idea how many blows they exchanged, until they reached this point. Standing in front of each other. Leaning forward, hands barely able to keep a grip on their blades. Breathing heavily in exhaustion as the stone they were standing on was mixed with rain water and blood. Both with wide smiles on their faces, despite the red fluid splattered all over them.

Slowly, Gensai sheathed her sword, causing the captain of the Shinsengumi to actually relax a bit. Not because she thought it was over... but because it was going to be over.

"I'm really glad that you have arrived here," her senpai said weakly against the rain, leaning forward as her hand didn't move away from her handle. "One final strike."

"All or nothing," Okita replied with a raspy voice, holding her sword up just like she did at the start, tip pointed at her opponent. An moment of gratitude passed between them. Then they disappeared in a split second. One burst explosion, shooting the water away on Gensai's side. Two steps, causing the blood to disappear on Okita's side. In the next split second they reappeared, arms already starting, or rather, finishing their movements. Okita reeled back her arm, about to do her third step. Gensai tensed up, her left thumb shoving her blade up ever so slightly.

"**Kyousei**!" Gensai screamed in ecstasy and defiance. Okita grinned, not wanting to be one upped and took a deep breath herself. Her feet landed on the ground once more. Third step!

"**Mumyou Sanda**-"

Before she could finish the last step, reaching her top speed or before she could finish her words... her lungs exploded in pain. She tried to keep it in. Power through it, forcing the step to happen. But it was meaningless. Blood exploded out of her mouth, seemingly taking all of her body's energy with them. She still pressed on, but she felt like chains were dragging her down now. It was in that moment, even as she tried to stab at Gensai, that she knew it.

She lost. From the wide eyes of her opponent, her mouth opening in a gasp with horror, Okita realized with terror that her senpai did too. In a manic panic, she tried to speak up, but her throat burned and was filled with so much blood that only a gurgle came out.

_Please. Please, don't look at me like this. Don't pity me. Especially now. Don't hold back. Don't let me die with regrets again._ Memories flooded her mind. The beginning of the coughing. The final decision to let her rest and recover. Her hand, reaching for the backs of her allies, as that would be the last time she would ever see them. The emotions of regret and anger, of despair, as recovery never came. The feeling of wasting away in her bed, denied to die alongside her brethren, to fight with all her might, to give it one last go. She didn't want that. She didn't want to be denied that again, she thought as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

Yet she could see the refusal in her opponent's eyes. The desire to hold back, to will strength back to Okita. Even to just...accept defeat, to allow Okita Souji to defeat Kawakami Gensai right then and there. Senpai was a good woman...yet Okita would've never forgiven Gensai. Never. She would've most likely despised her for the rest of human history.

If Gensai had followed through on those thoughts. However, Okita relaxed in relief, her despair leaking out of her body, when she looked down. At Gensai's arms, not slowing down at all.

Thank goodness. Even if Gensai's mind didn't want to strike her down as her weak constitution kicked in, the body remained true as a manslayer. She saw the blade being drawn, not losing a bit of speed. The steel would strike her before her katana could complete the stab, having slowed down too much. Okita closed her eyes with a bloodstained smile.

_Sorry master..._

She felt a moment of cold metal touching her before she couldn't think anything anymore.

/

She was smiling.

Gensai rolled sloppily before falling off the roof top. Numb pain flared up in her body as she landed on the ground. With the battle over, all of her energy seemed to fade away. She could barely turn her body around. Only with great effort was she able to turn on her back. Her chest moved greatly as she gasped for her. The rain trickled away on her skin, burning her wounds more and more. Yet she ignored all of that, as she tried to recover, and focused on only one thing.

Okita was dead. The manslayer won. Okita had been smiling despite that.

Gensai gritted her teeth, forcing herself up. No time to stay here. The enemy could take this chance to take her down. She... she had to get away. Take this... this victory…

As she thought that, she gritted her teeth. Yes. A victory. That's what it was supposed to be, right? She should've been content. She defeated her opponent. Killed her with her Noble Phantasm. While not the same, it was still used to pay her respects. She won. That was all that should matter. Luck was just part of the battle. No big deal. All that mattered was the result. She got one step closer to incarnation, to fulfilling her...her wish. That's what she was doing all of this for, right?

But as she slowly stumbled away, her direction leading her to the arena, only a single sentence repeated itself in her head over and over again. The response to her stated desire that she believed in with not a single doubt before.

_"__Do you really want that?"_

Her own reply at the time now felt hollow in her heart as she clenched her eyes shut, the rain running down her cheeks, as she realized one simple thing. One simple thing, as the serene smile filled with peace and acceptance burned itself into her memory over and over again.

She was not the one who was supposed to be walking away from this duel.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Persona**

They never found her. Moving as fast as they could while keeping a low profile, they searched the entire city. Every building, every alley, every angle was covered by them. The storm passed, the silent night was over and the sun was rising in the east. But in the end, all they did was waste time. There was not a single trace left of Okita.

Did he make the wrong decision? The thought repeated itself even in his dreams, images of George and Okita being cut down brutally. Ritsuka opened his eyes, his body and mind feeling like hell. This nap of his didn't help much. But Mordred was insistent that he needed some rest. He probably needed it too, given how paranoid he was getting near the end of the night. He forced himself against the wall, putting his hands on his eyes. Damn it. This had to be one of the worse singularities he's been so far. Two of his servants might as well be gone. He and Mordred were only able to leave because the enemy played with them. And they still had no contact to Chaldea.

A hand touched his shoulder, causing him to look up. Mordred raised an eyebrow at him before throwing her thumb over her shoulder with a frown.

"Oi. Master. We gotta go."

"Right. Right... " He muttered, forcing himself to stand up. The two of them walked out of the alley in the open street, the sun shining down on them. He had to cover his eyes with a hiss, before he got used to it. Slowly then, he dragged his body over the streets, with no real aim actually. Maybe they could try and find Nero. But that wasn't much of a plan. In the first case scenario, they were short a servant to make this even now. He sighed, shaking his head with a wince. If this went on he might get a migraine from this.

"Got some sleep in at least?" Mordred asked, concern tinting her voice as she walked alongside him. Ritsuka shrugged weakly.

"A little bit." He bit his lip before glancing at her with worried look. "No sign at all?"

"Heard some rumors." Mordred clicked her tongue as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Apparently Gensai was pretty banged up. Was more like a living moving corpse. Some soldiers say she arrived last night in the arena to heal up."

Any hope Ritsuka had left crashed down and disappeared. He remembered how they left, Okita leaving with full confidence and a wide smile. Ritsuka was so sure that she would defeat Assassin in the end. Come back and tell them in a dramatic and over the top manner about how "another victory went to Okita!" Maybe even explain the enemy's plan more, even if they already kinda knew. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath.

"The fact that she's alive… "

"Yeah…" Mordred sighed, shaking her head as she looked down at the ground. "Can only hope that George got away."

"At least Okita gave it as hard as she took it," Ritsuka muttered, a small smile on his face. The fact that Gensai was hurt so badly... it had to be close. Maybe it was just the Weak Constitution kicking in at a bad time and Okita was even dominating that fight. It was just a weak consolation to think about but he still thought positively. His knight agreed, slapping the back of his head with a smirk on her own.

"Was never in doubt."

"Ah! There you are!"

Blinking, the two of them turned around at the familiar voice. At the sight, his eyes widened slightly while Mordred's narrowed a bit. He remembered the revelation he had against Caster. Immediately, he tried to look normal, his mouth twitching as he put up a smile himself. Mordred on the other hand huffed, frown still in place as she crossed her arms.

"Nero."

She was completely fine. Waving nonchalantly as if nothing happened. Putting her hands on her hips, she puffed out her chest with an easygoing grin.

"Apologies for my late arrival." She put her hand on her chest, shrugging. "Injuries need time to heal, you see?" She tilted her head with a small frown when she leaned forward a bit. "What is it with those long faces?"

"Okita is gone. George might be too," Ritsuka explained in a grave tone.

"Oh." Nero blinked, humming for a moment. Then with a wide smile, she clapped her hands together. "Well, we cannot change our past normally, so let us not dwell on that!"

It might've been an attempt to cheer them up. But Ritsuka shared a glance with Mordred, who nodded slowly, nevertheless. That was it. The picture was too clear. Taking a deep breath, her grip tightened on her sword as her eyes focused on Nero's back.

"Also, Caster let us go," the knight said loudly as she looked away, like a side comment. Tapping her shoulder with Clarent, she glanced at the Roman's back with sharp eyes, muttering in a loud voice, intended to be heard. "The damn arrogant bitch. You'd think an Emperor wouldn't be that dumb."

It was minuscule. Barely visible. But since he and Mordred for looking for it, they saw it. The small stumble. The twitch of her muscles. It was gone in an instant, but it was there. Turning her head a bit, the wide smile she sent them seemed wider than usual.

"Let's just be glad she was being so generous to us!" She shouted happily, yet there was a small strain on that voice. Mordred exhaled slowly, but before anything could happen, they heard loud hoove steps behind them. Turning around, their eyes widened. It was a familiar sight. Not often seen, yet known.

"That's Bayard!" Ritsuka yelled, running towards it. Poor horse was hurt, breathing heavily as its wounds were bleeding. But just as they got closer, horror filled him. Bayard was disappearing. Weakly, the Noble Phantasm of George turned its head to the left, as if pointing at something. Then, without any other hint, it disappeared into the faint golden dust. Only a small thud on the ground occurred, leaving behind the only thing that wasn't part of the horse. The letter.

Ritsuka didn't miss a beat picking it up, pocketing it. He heard Nero approach, hummin in interest. Glancing behind him, he saw her followed by Mordred as she leaned forward, putting a finger on her lips.

"Hm. Wonder what tha-"

In an instant, Mordred's arm swung down, a snarl escaping her. Clarent blurred in the air, but before it could hit Nero, a large object smashed against the knight. Or at least tried to, as she snapped her head to its direction and redirected her swing. The chimera's lion head was cleaved in half. Ritsuka quickly jumped past Nero, who froze in mid sentence. Protectively, Mordred pulled him behind her as she pressed off the ground. The spot where she was just a moment ago was riddled with arrows. Clicking her tongue, she looked around.

"Sorry about that, master."

"Not your fault," Ritsuka muttered as he followed her gaze. He gulped at the sight. "Crap."

Roman soldiers with bows on the rooftops. Spears and shields being raised from between the civilians and the alleys. Monsters like Chimera, Golems and homonculus gathered as well. And Nero? Slowly, she straightened up her back. Turning her head around, she had a raised eyebrow with the ugliest sneer that Ritsuka never saw on Nero's face. Which was natural after all.

She would never make such a face anyway.

Anger. Disappointment. Annoyance. All of those emotions oozed out of 'Nero' as she exhaled slowly, sighing with a small growl. Then, a disrespecting grin appeared on her face as she tilted her head back, pointing at herself.

"What gave me away, commoner?"

Ritsuka put up a brave smile as he raised his hands to count from.

"Lots of stuff. The disappearances. The way you acted sometimes. The enemy just knowing about everything about our hideouts and what we planned. But the last nail in the coffin... " He scoffed, shaking his head. "Saying the same thing you said when we first met, Caster? And really? Complimenting yourself?"

"'sides, Nero wouldn't just act so cold about her own allies!" Mordred added, royally pissed off as she stomped on the ground, causing a crack.

"Hm. Here I imagined you would understand her true nature," Caster sighed through the mouth of Nero. Glancing to the side, her eyes were slightly narrowed. "Callous. Non caring. Childish." She spat at the ground before crossing her arms, turning her head back to her opponents. "Idiotic.

"What do you know about her?!" Ritsuka yelled. He wouldn't let that stand. Sure. Nero made mistakes in her life. She didn't really understand the people around her. And sometimes she was a bigger headache than most people around him! But in the end, she was a reliable, good girl who tried her best! But he backed off in shock when he saw the pure rage in Caster's face. Veins popped up, teeth ground against each other and her face turned red.

"I know **_everything _**about her!" She coughed, clearing her throat after the outburst. Taking a deep breath, she became jarringly relaxed, eyes half lidded as she folded her hands over her stomach. "Not that it matters. After all... this is over."

She opened her arms in demonstration. Immediately, the soldiers pushed some civilians forward. Ritsuka's breath hitched while Mordred, having gathered energy already, stopped immediately, her eyes wide as she bit her lips so hard she was drawing blood.

"Now then. Will you use your Noble Phantasm and kill all of these innocent people? Or will you try your luck with only your skill against this army while having to protect such a liability?" A demeaning giggle escaped her as she spun around dramatically before folding her hands next to her cheek, pursing her lips in mock pity. "Oh, whatever shall you do?!"

"You... bitch...!" Mordred bit out, causing Caster to wave her hand dismissively.

"Yes, do go on. Your hate for me just fulfills me." She leaned against a golem that lowered itself, crossing her legs as she did so. "It just proves that I'm right."

Two choices. Let Mordred lose against quantity eventually and die alongside him. Or sacrifice a mass of innocent people in the name of the greater good. The moment he heard those options, he knew he couldn't choose either. However, what other options did he have? Sweating, he curled his hands into fists. There had to be some way out! They had to escape. But where? The encirclement was too thick to break through, jumping out was meaningless. If only there was some secret-

He blinked at a certain memory. Actually, calling it a memory did it too much justice. He could've just imagined it. A trivia fact that could've been a lie. Quite frankly, this was a stupid idea he just came up with. But when you didn't see a third option, then make one!

"Mordred!" He shouted. When Mordred glanced at him, he pointed down. Kudos to her, she only raised an eyebrow for a second. Then she cracked her neck with a quiet growl.

"Fuck it!" Taking a deep breath, she held her weapon close to her, before red lightning crackled in the air, the area filled with the dense magical energy that was gathered.

"**Clarent Blood…**!"

Caster in the form of Nero let out an impressed grunt, raising an eyebrow as a smirk of victory appeared on her face. Then she blinked, seeing how Ritsuka grabbed onto Mordred, while the latter looked down. Her eyes snapped open in shock as she shot up.

"Oh, you little-!"

"**ARTHUR!**"

The blast hit the ground, burning through it with ease. Instantly, with the foundation gone, gravity took its course. The moment she shot the energy blast, Mordred grabbed him as well as they began to fall, debris around them all over. Ritsuka clenched his mouth and eyes shut.

Oh whatever god was up there listening, please let there be an actual underground complex or catacombs or whatever he remembered from that random trivia night!

/

"Touche," Caster muttered, her fingers digging into her palms. Not a single casualtiy, civilian or soldier. Yet the damage was done. A gaping hole in the city, dark as the bottom of the sea. She underestimated their audacity. She licked her lips in frustration. The hole was like an insult to her, mocking her to the face.

"What shall we do, emperor?"

She shivered. The dark hole represented things that she wanted to forget. Taking a deep breath, she snapped her fingers. The ground shifted, becoming thinner. Yet it was enough to cover it up. She shook her head. No. She was beyond this. It didn't matter to her. With a sigh, she turned to the captain of her forces, waving him away.

"Leave them down there. It fits them, as rats in the dirt. Spread out. Alarm me if you see anything." She glanced back at where the hole was, her voice becoming raspy. "By the time they come up, Saber and Assassin will have their act back together."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Back Together**

"You good?"

His head was pounding. His ears were ringing. His throat was dry as the desert. He felt dirty and hurt all over. Lying on the rocks didn't help. He felt like he was going to barf and the world was spinning around him. Ritsuka coughed and took a deep breath. All things considered?

"Peachy," he muttered before shaking his head as he coughed. "Ugh, so much dust in here. That was way too damn close... "

Blinking, he realized he could barely see anything. Only the broken rocks in the vicinity around him and Mordred, standing right in front of him, offering her arm. Accepting it, he was pulled up with ease. Ritsuka dusted himself off before rolling his shoulders with a wince. Alright. Maybe not the best plan. But hey, they escaped scott free! Relatively speaking. Mordred walked up to him, pressing his cheeks together with her hands. Leaning in, she hummed in thought, even as his face turned red a bit. Then a grin appeared on her face as she nodded to herself in satisfaction. Patting him off a few times, she pulled Clarent out of the rocks and put it onto her shoulder as she glanced back at him.

"Now what? You got a light?" When Ritsuka pulled a flashlight out of his pockets, Mordred gave him a flat look. "Really?"

He shrugged nonchalantly as he gave it a small shake.

"Hey, it helps to be... " Once he turned it on however, he trailed off, sincerely wishing he didn't as his eyes widened. "Whaaaaaaat."

Mordred whistled at the sight as Ritsuka looked around, gaping at the sight. It was a massive complex, with a lot of room actually. Enough room to contain all of the... things scattered all over the place. Ruins of buildings that seemed less modern than the ones on the surface. Forgotten walls and aqueducts littering the ground. There were even graves, whose names were smudged and statues that were broken so much that one couldn't recognize anyone anymore. Quite frankly it looked like a forgotten catacomb. He certainly didn't expect any of that.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Mordred muttered, sounding impressed. Given that Ritsuka did not want to admit that this was a fluke, he merely shrugging before scratching the back of his head in thought.

"Does Caster know about this?" He hummed in thought as he lighted up certain spots. "If yes, maybe it's stuff she wants to hide."

"What, like a basement?"

Ritsuka shuddered at her innocent comment. Ugh. Knowing pop culture was biting him now. He wished he didn't, but now he was starting to see shadows move when they most likely didn't. Giving Mordred a small glare, he let out a small huff.

"Now I can't get the image out of my head, thanks." He licked his lips in anticipation as they began to carefully move forward, stepping over the debris they created. "Let's just hope she didn't hide anything freaky down here.

"Pff." Mordred poked him with a playful smirk. "You scared?"

"A little bit?" Ritsuka muttered, feeling his face heat up when all she did was start laughing at him. Well, at least it distracted him from the horror scenario they were in. He had no idea how long they were walking, making idle comments here and there as they navigated the underground. So far, only more and more broken stuff appeared. But then, there was a slightly narrowed path, as if creating a new segment. Stepping over to it, Ritsuka gave the flashlight to Mordred to move better. Once he did so, he accepted it back and pointed back to the front.

At the broken face of Nero. Suffice to say, he jumped back at bit. Taking the distance, the light covering more room, it was, unfortunately for him, not the worst thing. Broken toys. Ruined dresses that seemed like something Nero would wear. Paintings that have been ripped apart with her on them. Statues half broken, cracks all over the recreation of her body. The worst was the remnants of a theater, looking a lot like Nero's Noble Phantasm, destroyed and sullied, with not a speck of its original glory left to see. Ritsuka took a deep breath before leaning back as he sweated nervously.

What the hell, what the hell, what the hell-

"Okay, starting to agree with you here, master." Mordred retched before shaking her head. "That's freaky."

"Uhuh," he could only say dumbly, just imagining Caster herself being down there, doing it with her barehands with a manic expression. As he started to shiver, Mordred put a hand on his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not gonna hug you," she said dryly. He could only nod weakly in response. She sighed, pressing her lips together, before blinking. Snapping her fingers, she pointed at him. "What's in that letter anyway?"

His eyes widened. Distraction! Good!

"Letter! Right!"

Pulling it out, he unfolded it. His happiness burned away when he saw the contents. This time, he couldn't hold back a short scream as he dropped it as if it was on fire, backing away towards a wall. Goddamn it, another horror movie trope! His Saber gave him a flat look before looking down herself. When she saw what she did however, she flinched away for a moment as well. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and picked the letter up.

"That's disgusting." She narrowed her eyes at the bloody letters. "Sieg?"

"Does he mean Siegfried?" Ritsuka asked quietly, having calmed down a bit at the shocking message. The two of them looked at each other, crossing their arms as they hummed in thought while tilting their heads. As much as he tried, he couldn't recall anything about Siegfried's legend. Honestly, the whole Fafnir part was the biggest event that stood out for him. It was just normal. So many Heroic Spirits, too many details to remember. Mordred was the same, as she threw her arms up in surrender with a groan.

"Damn it, I don't remember enough about his legend right now. Would be real convenient if Chaldea would call us already but... "

"...What do we do now?" Ritsuka asked quietly, feeling like they reached the end of the line. Not finding out what George's message was meant to be, this escape, the creepy nature of this underground... For a moment, he doubted himself. Suddenly a clap of hands shocked him out of it, causing him to look at Mordred in surprise who gave him a small glare.

"Fuck, you're the master here." She jabbed her finger at his chest. "You're supposed to give the orders, not mope around as if you were Sheherazade! You ain't got the tits nor the nudism nor the chocolate skin to pull that off!"

"Crude as they are, her words ring true!"

The two of them blinked before slowly turning their heads. With his flashlight, he pointed at the source of the voice they heard back on the surface. Slightly gaping at the sight, he tilted his head as a scarlet clothed woman came into sight, her blonde hair shining against the light.

"Nero... ?" He muttered quietly. The Emperor puffed out her cheeks, putting her hand on her chest.

"The one and only!" A small giggled escaped her before she spun around on her heel before spreading out her arms."What a turn of events! Here I thought I was alone in this mission!" She snapped her fingers and pointed them at him."But as expected of my praetor, he prevailed either way!" She paused for a moment, her smile not wavering. "Even as depressed as he appears!"

Suffice to say, this was unexpected. And Mordred's reaction was completely understandable. The helmet moved to cover her head as she snarled, Clarent crackled with energy and was pointed at Nero.

"You really think we'd fall for it twice, you bitch of a Caster?!"

For an instance, Nero's eyes widened. Then to their surprise, her smile took a somber tone as she sighed, putting her hands on her hips.

"I see. Umu," she muttered quietly, glancing at the ground. "You've had to deal with my mother. Unpleasant, isn't she?"

Mother? Ritsuka shared a look with Mordred, who morphed her helmet back. The two of them narrowed their eyes slightly before nodding to each other. Alright, if that were true, that would explain a lot of things. Having Nero's mannerisms so close to the real deal for example. He blinked before shuddering. Aaaaand would make this entire underground complex so much more creepier.

"That could be a trick, master," the knight muttered with concern. He licked his lips in thought before scratching the back of his head.

"I don't know, Caster of Cologne doesn't seem to be the kind of person to make such comments about herself." He pointed at her with a raised eyebrow. "Remember how triggered she was when you insulted her?"

While Mordred nodded in agreement, remembering all to well, she still seemed somewhat skeptical. However, Nero returned to her excited state when she clapped her hands.

"Indeed! You truly did meet my mother then!" She pointed up at the ceiling. "The incarnation of vanity and lies!"

"Well, can't be sure since you, if it is you, never talk about her." Mordred rolled her shoulders, blade still pointed at Nero. "Just to be sure. What prank did the furball play on you last week?"

Nero in response gasped dramatically before puffing up her cheeks while crossing her arms.

"Please, I was the one who played that prank and you know it! You laughed a lot about the 'soggy foxy' joke I made!"

Almost immediately, Mordred lowered her sword. She shrugged at Ritsuka's face of disbelief before putting her sword on her shoulder, pointing at Nero with a raised eyebrow.

"Next question, why the hell were you down here all the time?"

In that moment, Nero looked away, her cheeks slightly heating up. She muttered something under her breath. When the two of them still stared at her with expectation, she sighed before nervously touching the tips of her index fingers.

"...I was lost."

"What." Their voices could not be any less flat. With a flushed face, she began to wave her arms frantically to defend herself.

"This place is rather large and complex! Not to mention, I didn't want to risk destroying my way up!" Clearing her throat, she tried to put up her royal air around her again, and kinda failed. Ignoring that, she spun around and pointed forward. "But I didn't stay idle! Follow me!"

Well, they didn't have anything better to do. Without further ado, they followed her, pass all of the Anti-Nero signs around them. Slowly but surely, they found a path that was lighted up on its own. Pocketing the flashlight, they arrived at a humble emergency camp... with a magic circle on the ground. Nero strolled over to it after making him and Mordred sit down on some rocks. Then, clapping her hands together, she rubbed them a few times with an anticipating grin.

"Alright, with you here, I no longer need to send those text messages anymore... " Fiddling around with the circle, she used the blood drop she got from him on the way here. Then, the circle lighted up before Nero threw her fist in the air in victory. "Aaaaand there!"

In an instance, the all too familiar sight of a transmission appeared before them. Ritsuka almost broke into tears right then and there when he saw the purple haired girl. Her eyes teared up a bit, a wide smile on her face as she leaned forward in excitement.

"Senpai!"

"Mash!" He shouted with equal happiness. God, how much he missed her voice! Especially after everything what happened! A clear of a throat interrupted his happiness, as a second transmission opened up. Lo and behold, the genius of the rennaisance said there with crossed arms, an amused smile on her face.

"What am I, chopped liver?" She asked sarcastically. At the sight of her, Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh lightly.

"Da Vinci!" He paused for a moment, Mash taking the chance to greet Mordred who sent her a lazy wave, and narrowed his eyes. Raising his finger, he pointed at the current director's face. "...What's with those bags under your eyes?"

Indeed. The servant looked like she didn't have any sleep at all. Which was weird because he would expect that from Mash trying to worry herself to death. But no, it looked like Da Vinci was the one at death's door. She was also suitably... irritable at the flaw in her face being pointed out. With an accusing finger, she took a deep, frustrated breath.

"You try and get past whatever interference the enemy kept trying!" She yelled before throwing her arms in the air, causing a round of tired, annoyed agreement in the background. "It was like a rat was eating away at whatever connection we created! It was hell!" She slammed her fist on the table with her eyes bloodshot as she leaned in closer. "I never worked so hard in my entire life!"

"What about the Demon Pillar assault?" Ritsuka asked with a frown, raising his hand.

"Never!" She merely repeated again before leaning back, doing mediative breaths with eyes closed. Then, putting on a happy face, she raised her thumb. "Enough about that, Chaldea is back in full action! What's the report?"

Report. Yikes. He scratched the back of his head. How to describe that... Sharing a glance with Mordred, who shrugged, he pressed his lips together as he looked back at the transmissions.

"Could be better?"

"What with Okita and George being gone, I can see that," Da Vinci commented, a sympathetic look on her face. Leaning back with her legs crossed, she tilted her head at them. "Do you at least have the enemy's identities?"

"We beat Berserker Abel. Other than that…" He trailed off, deciding to let Mordred have a say in this as well.

"Assassin Kawakami Gensai. Saber who's apparently related to Siegfried. Former defeated Okita, latter defeated George," the knight summarized. Leaning forward, she raised her third finger, about to finish the list. "And-"

"My mother, Julia Agrippina. Caster," Nero interrupted quietly. Mash and Da Vinci didn't seemed too shocked at the revelation. Most likely because they were in contact already. The former frowned, staring at the consoles before glancing at Ritsuka with a concerned expression on her face.

"Speaking of, the data we are receiving is that... well, the entire city, even the underground you are in, is Caster's territory."

The two from the surface jumped up from their makeshift seats, total disbelief on their faces. The entire city?! That-What? Ritsuka was at a lost of words, stammering at the knowledge. Mordred shook her head with a glare before waving her hand dismissively.

"Demon Pillar or not, that sounds-"

"The Demon Pillar enhances my mother's abilities, I assume," Nero commented, cutting Mordred off. With a sigh, she twirled her hand at her surroundings. "We realized that her Noble Phantasm creates an empire in her image. Normally it's much smaller and more frail. Not much effort would be needed to break it for someone like Mordred." Ritsuka shared a look with her. Huh. Some things were weirdly easy to break. "Suffice to say, this entire place is her dream incarnate, according to Mr. Holmes' analysis. Naturally her control gets weaker the further away it is from her center, but still."

"What about the dump down here?" Mordred asked, missing Nero's minor flinch as the former threw her thumb back at the "Nero graveyard".

"If I may." Sherlock came into view, taking a whiff from his pipe before clearing his throat. "It is clear that she doesn't want these things on the surface. Thus we can surmise that what you have seen are things she doesn't want to remember or see at all. She might not even be fully conscious of them herself." He nodded to himself. "It would explain the fact she didn't send anyone down here."

"That sounds... dark," Ritsuka muttered, just imagining the implications. What could all of those ruins mean? Did she hate her own daughter that much, even to rip her images apart on an subconscious level.

"The human mind is a curious thing," Sherlock merely said in a grave tone. With worry, the master of Chaldea glanced at Nero. She seemed down, once they began to talk about her mother. Understandable, given what they have seen. And whatever he had remembered, calling their relationship "bad" was one way to put it. But for some reason, he couldn't help but think that something was missing. That there was something he could actually do. He was shaken out of his musings when Mordred tapped the ground with her feet, a small sigh escaping her as she pointed up at the ceiling.

"Alright, enough trivia talk, what the heck are we supposed to do? Unless you got some servants you can send in, I don't think Nero over there and I are enough to take on three servants." She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Especially with that Saber. Anyone who can take George down that fast is a threat."

"That fast?" Mash repeated in disbelief. A snort escaped Mordred as she nodded in confirmation.

"He's closer to being immortal than most people and he died at morning."

"Right, speaking of which." Da Vinci leaned away, taking a deep breath before her voice rose in volume. "You, get Siegfried over here for some personal advice!"

"Anyway, there is one thing where you're mistaken!" Nero announced, vigor returning to her voice as she stood up. She raised three fingers with a wide smile. "It's three against three after all!"

"I don't remember anyone else coming on this trip," Mordred commented before the Roman servant turned around, eyes squinting as if she tried to find something in the dark. Then, a small giggle escaped her as a distant light appeared in the shadows.

"Yooo~! Found some food! Totally edible too!"

While the knight merely tilted her head in confusion, Ritsuka shot up in shock. He knew that voice. He was with that woman in a similar situation like this one, having been cut off from Chaldea. A hopeful laugh escaped him as he jogged forward, the figure becoming more and more clear to him.

"You are... !"


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Reversal**

She was the pinnacle of calm. Nothing could faze her. As always, the Emperor was like a confident statue. Was what she liked to think of herself. The truth however was quite different. Her skin was paler than usual. Her muscles and skin were coiled like a super tense spring, ready to explode. Her lips were pressed together as she slightly shook on her throne.

She couldn't cut the connection. The moment she realized Stolas was being brute forced from not only one side, but two sides, she immediately took direct control and try to prevent it. But it was too late. It was there and now like a bridge made out of the strongest material, she couldn't decay it like before. She bit her thumb, a growl escaping her. It had to be a servant she missed. In the-the underground. For a moment, the thought that this was her fault occured to her... but she squashed it as she lifted her fist and slammed it down on her throne handle.

No. That wasn't her fault. It never was. Those fools just couldn't do anything without direct orders. Everyone knew about the underground. They never bothered to do anything about it. Why was it her that had to manage everything? It wasn't her fault, it wasn't her fault, it was theirs. The fools she called her servants.

Just like that monster, Abel. She wasn't responsible for his insanity. He was a loose cannon that had to be taken out anyway. Too many people died and she needed as many lives as she could. Her mind moved over to Saber, causing Agrippina to grit her teeth. That one wasn't any different either. Just as callous about killing and had no vision for the long term! The only one she could somewhat rely on was licking her wounds in the arena. Why was everything falling apart now?!

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. No matter. So what if Chaldea made a connection again. They couldn't sent in any more help. They might be able to communicate, but she still had the blockade up with the help of Stolas. She would win this. Then... her dream would come true.

"Just a few more... a few more and I have enough energy... "

"Only you?"

She jumped a bit on her throne, opening her eyes as she felt the growl with the increasing hostility in the air. In front of her was Saber, glaring at her as his eyes seemingly glowed. She could only blink in confusion. What was his problem now? Crossing her legs, she was about to put up a smile, but a sudden stomp on the ground, cracking it, caused her to freeze up as the hair on her neck stood up.

"So you plannin' to kill us too, you piece of shit?" His voice oozed with killing intent as he slowly stepped forward, hands tensed like a claw. "Berserker part of your whole sacrifice plan?"

Agrippina's eyes widened as she leaned back in shock. Damnations, was she talking out loud?! Before she could do anything, summon her Demon Pillar, cast poison or even open her mouth, Saber blurred and slammed her against the back of her throne by her throat.

"GAGH!"

She clawed away at his ludicrously tough arm, but it didn't budge one inch. Gasping for air, she started to choke when she barely got any inside her lungs.

"C'mon, use ya shitty words. I'm listening. Just a few more?" He leaned in as he pressed, intensifying the pain in her as his whisper turned into a shout. "Sucker only got one servant left! Where the fuck are the others supposed to come from?!"

"P-poor choice of words! It's just one more!" She choked out, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she tried to justify herself. However, it only caused the hand to squeeze a bit more.

"Real poor, sure!"

"It-it was necessary! B-b-berserker's death!" She screamed, slapping at his arm to make him ease up to no avail. "We need four servants as sacrifices!" "

"Oh, so it's 'just' those shitheads I could've killed from the get go." He chuckled lightly before slamming her against the throne again, causing her to groan in agony. "And-and what was that? Huh? That shit about 'honing the masses', huh?!"

Her words weren't working. Why? Why weren't they working?! Was this man so stupid that words didn't reach him?! Desperately, she worked her brain into high gear, trying to figure out how to do this. With gritted teeth, she came to a decision. Brute force had to be met with brute force. Putting her all into her voice, she took as deep of a breath as she could given the circumstances.

"Yes, I used Berserker for our needs, but that shall be the last sacrifice! No more, ugh, n-no more playing around!" She coughed as she weakly tried to shake her head. "Only four souls are needed! Three to incarnate each of us, the fourth to make it last! Their Saber is the last one! Together with all the lives in this city, our wishes shall be g-Kuh!"

By now, her air ways were completely squeezed. Any longer and she might actually die from suffocation. But she saw it. The hesitation. The twitching of his eyes, as they became a bit more dull. It was working! Desperately, through her tears, she forced a smile on her face, channelling everything she had into those last words, as much as they hurt her.

"P-please... I-I swear! On-on my name!"

The man froze up for a moment as Agrippina felt like throwing up. But it did the job. He let go. Gasping for air, she coughed as she landed on her throne again, leaning forward as she took in deep breaths.

"Alright. Fine. I'll deal with them first."

The rage was still present in his voice but she heard him leave nonethelss. Not that she cared. There was only a ringing in her head that she focused on. The tremors, rising from her chest. Then, when the door closed in a loud bang, she screamed. Screamed at the hall, screamed at nothing, as she repeatedly hammered her hand on the throne to the point it was starting to dent.

She was gonna kill them all, she thought as she wiped her tears. All of them were insolent bugs that had to die! What a fool she was, relying on them! Didn't she learn from her mistakes?! No. Clearly dying had dulled her instincts. But no more. Once this was done, she would drown them in poi-

Something triggered her sixth sense. Immediately, her eyes widened as she sent her "spirit" away. Someone was here. Two individuals in fact. But how? There was only one way to get here unless... She clicked her tongue in frustration as she searched. They came from the underground, those rats. Well, they made a great mistake coming... here…

She could only stare blankly at the empty air in front of her, her mind's eye showing her the intruders. Slowly, she shook her head, eyes fogging up as her face was lax, as if losing all of her strength. No. That was utterly impossible. She couldn't be here. She couldn't be going to ruin everything for Agrippina once more.

But there she was. Alongside the master of Chaldea... her daughter led the way into this home of hers.

/

Gensai never felt so tired in her entire life. There wasn't even a real reason for it. She had won. She recovered from her injuries. Yet here she was, lying on a bed, just blankly staring at the ceiling. She just felt... lost. Still, with whatever will she had left, she pushed herself off. This couldn't go on. There was still a wish to gain, even if she wasn't sure anymore what she actually wanted. Wasting away, doing nothing, was an insult to herself and to... Okita.

She sighed as she stepped into the hallway. Perhaps some training in the arena migh-

"Lady Kawakami!" A soldier saluted at her, nervously sweating before he pointed towards his back. "There is a... request for a duel for you?"

She raised an eyebrow. Attacking the arena again? That... didn't make much sense. Trying the same thing twice, even if it worked the last time, was foolish. Especially if they had only one servant left. They had no guaranteed she would accept such a duel or that Gensai's side wouldn't just betray their trust. As the thought crossed her mind, her eyes widened. Unless…

"Lead me."

It didn't take long for them to reach the light of the colosseum. All the guards stood at attention, nervously holding their weapons up high. In an instance, Gensai's eyes moved to the one in the middle. The first thing that came to mind was something felt off.

This one didn't feel like a servant at all. Yet the manslayer felt a shiver down her spine nonetheless. Even though she didn't feel any power... No. Exactly because of that. It was like she was looking at nothing, despite the fact she could clearly see the woman eating away at a meat skewer.

Pinkish hair was held up by a black flower like accesoire. Her clothes, purple and red in color scheme, were somewhat revealing in the leg and chest area. Four katanas were bound to her hip, as she sat there, moaning in bliss. Turning her head, the woman blinked before waving with great enthusiasm.

"Yahoo! You must be Kawakami Gensai, right?" She gulped down her food before pointing her skewer at herself with a smirk. "Miyamoto Musashi, pleasure to meet ya!"

Gensai felt her body tense up immediately. The legendary swordsman? The one who had mastered the void, author of the Book of the Five Rings? Only someone living under a rock wouldn't know who he, or rather she, was. Especially Gensai knew. After all, the master of the Niten-ichi-ryu, the art of duel wielding, was somewhat of an idol for her. Still, the fact that she didn't feel the presence of a servant from her-No. The assassin shook her head before putting her hand on her sheathed blade, cracking a smile.

Perhaps now she could redeem herself. Win a duel in the proper way. Who cared if this opponent was not a servant? Who cared where she came from? All that mattered was that Gensai had a target again. One more chance. She began to vibrate impatiently as Musashi seemingly ate the last skewer awfully slow. But in the end, the food vanished. With a heave, the woman shot up, stretching her sides a bit.

"Thanks for waiting!" She shouted, laughing in a good hearted manner. Gensai couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"It is quite alright."

Musashi nodded a few times before widening her stance ever so slightly, even as her arms didn't touch her weapons.

"Shall we?

As her coy tone, the air changed immediately. Power and killing intent oozed from her and in that moment, Gensai was absolutely certain. She was the real deal. The realization caused her hand to shake in terror as she broke out into a cold sweat. But still... she still smiled widely. Immediately she threw out her right arm, making all of the soldiers cease in stepping forward, ready to die.

"Stay back." She couldn't keep the want, the need, the desperation from her voice as she took her position. "No matter what, I will fight this battle alone."

To her eternal gratitude, the soldiers cleared the area. She let out a shaking breath. Today was a good day to die.

/

Sitting on the stairs, he stared at an empty spot on the sand. Memories of his fight returned to his mind and Saber snarled in frustration. That fight wasn't fulfilling. It was just fucking annoying. Georgie or whatever was a coackroach, but was no fun to fight against. He just refused to die. No skill whatsoever.

He had hoped. So hard to find a proper challenge. Something he could feel good about for crushing. But so far? Absolutely nothing. Chaldea was a massive disappointment. Rider had no skill. The other monkey died to the monkey on his side. But there was one small spot of hope…

His ear twitched when he heard an explosion in the far off distance. Then, a moment later, something crashed down on the sand in front of him. He blinked before a face splitting smirk appeared on his face. Shooting up, his sword appeared in his hand as he waited for the dust to disappear.

There she was. The bitch in white armor. With the helmet on and all. Pointing her sword at him, he could hear the bloodthirsty growl echoing from inside the metal.

"Yo."

He cracked his neck in response.

"About damn time."

/

Agrippina remembered. The moment Nero had to destroy everything she had build up. When she was seized by the puppets she had created. When she was revealed to the public, the angry mob screaming for her death, fooled by whatever lies Nero made up. And then her child herself, just staring at her with empty eyes just before taking her life via proxy.

The woman was hyperventilating. Frantiaclly, she looked around. No way to escape. They would arrive to fast. She felt boxed in, the walls seemingly creeping up on her to smash her flat. Grabbing her hair, she started to pull at them, hoping the pain would distract her a little bit. Then she realized what she had to do. Reaching out, she tried to calm down, but to no avail. Her voice broke, cracked, filled with panic as she shouted.

"Return immediately!"

"Denied."

"Fuck off."

The replies were instantaneous and she slumped back on her throne, her vision beginning to darken as her breathing became more and more erratic. She was going to die again. What could she do, against her certain doo-

Something snapped inside her head, as she completely froze up like a statue.

Wait. Why did she have to be the one who so afraid? Why was she the one who wanted to flee? As if she was the dog hunted by the people with the spears? Wasn't she the hunter? Wasn't she superior? What reason did she have to panic at a doll coming at her?

A small smile appeared on her face as her breathing became perfectly calm. Yes. Now that she thought about it... didn't this suit her just fine? She was the true emperor. Not Nero. She was the one chosen to stand on top. And now... she could finally prove it. Crush her daughter to the ground and show to the world that she was always a puppet. She pushed the hair back over her head, a laugh escaping her.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

The final battles in this singularity were about to occur. The fate of the Fake Empire would be decided on this day. The preservers of human history against the wishes of the individuals. Their pressure, their intent to kill was so great, that it caused illusions to appear for anyone who did and would've have witnessed such irregular events. Barely visible to their eyes, only a feeling than something tangible, but as faint as they were, they were still there.

The Four Armed Nioh of the Void against the Deadly Smiling Facade of the Yuki Onna, unsheathing their swords at the same time with not a word uttered from them.

The Scarlet Red Dragon facing the Bloodstained Devil, their arms rearing back, both hands on their hilts as they roared at each other with glee.

And at last... the Emperors of Rome, one sneaking into the others palace as the other rose from her throne, one a shining light while the other was becoming a creeping shadow.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Evolution**

She was holding back. Nay, it was more accurate to say that she was gauging Gensai. Apparently Chaldea was in fact cooperating with Musashi. Despite the frustration welling up in her, she squashed it and instead took pride that she made this swordswoman wary of her as they exchanged blows. Still. They were in a stalemate, and the gap in skill was quite clear.

For the outsider, they'd see them as even. With one sword in their hands, their arms were not visible at all. Only the sparks of metal meeting each other was any indication that something was happening. They both stood their ground, aiming for an opening, only to be batted away once more. Still. Gensai knew the difference. The difference which let her know she was losing.

She was giving it her all. Meanwhile Musashi didn't even use her second sword yet. Thus, she was clearly holding back. Which only confirmed one thing in Gensai's mind. She was on the right track, that rainy night. But she didn't do enough. She couldn't fight the same way she fought Okita. She failed in the end, after all. An idea bubbled up in her head. Perhaps…

She jumped back, exhaling as she sealed off her killing intent, her Presence Concealment activating. Musashi blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes, taking a deep breath. She was wary. Understandable. There was no practical reason of doing this after all. At least on first glance. Gensai was betting on that.

Again, she rushed forward. And as expected, hiding her killing intent did nothing to change this fight. Their blades moved again, not at all different from the first time. Of course, this was only the first step of her plan. Just as she pulled her sword back, bracing for a step, she flared up her killing intent. She knew for a fact what Musashi saw. Her eyes widened and moving by instinct alone, she swung her katana to her left, parrying the attack... that never existed.

A feint with bloodlust. The fact that Miyamoto Musashi fell for that filled Gensai with glee, as she thought one word in her mind, as her opponent was off balance. She was already moving the opposite as that swing, her arm positioned in a way to cut Musashi's stomach open.

**Kyousei.**

She swung her sword, intent on finishing it right then and there. But instead of hearing the wet sound of flesh and blood in the air, she felt solid resistance with a loud clank. Her eyes widened, before she clicked her tongue in annoyance. Kyousei wouldn't be effective if it was parried away by a second sword, avoiding its edge through that. Musashi grinned as she held her right sword in place, while the left arm recovered from the momentum it was swung by. Exhaling, Gensai blurred, touching the downwards swing by dashing forward. After something exploded behind her, she turned around, holding her sword up once again with a small frown. Well, at least she managed to draw out the dual wield. She was at least on that level. The dual wielder herself whistled, pointing her right katana at Gensai as the other one was tapped on her shoulder, a wide smile on her face.

"Ohohoho! That was sneaky!"

Gensai giggled, covering her mouth with a coy wink.

"Assassin," she said teasingly. Clearing her throat, she stretched her neck a bit. Enough flirting, no need to take it too far. Thankfully Musashi didn't seem to notice as she twirled both of her swords before holding them at her sides, pointing at the ground.

"Sure you are." She licked her lips before cracking her neck. "Wanna try again?"

"Gladly!"

In this exchange, Gensai began to get the upper hand. Even as Musashi had both of her swords out, increasing her defensive capabilities, the bloodlust feints worked as Gensai worked them in. Feint at the neck, aim low. Feint at the side, feint again at upper arm, actually stab at her face. Not to mention, sometimes Gensai would just follow through on her bloodlust, attacking with a downward swing which almost cut Musashi due to her hesitation. Gensai's smile threatened to split her face as she began to move faster and faster. Trying new things out... was exciting! This high of controlling the pace like this, realizing new possibilities...it rivaled her first time using Kyousei!

Still, despite the glee, she knew she wasn't winning. While she had the upper hand, forcing Musashi back slowly but surely against the wall, the latter was keeping up, her face in total focus, eyes never stop moving as she asserted which strike would be the real one, slowly reducing the time it took to do so. Taking a deep breath, another idea came to mind. She never tried it before. But right now? Gensai felt like she could do anything. She was able to do things she had never done before after all, her blade reaching higher and higher heights. Or maybe she was always capable of such things and just never tried before. Either way, she took a deep breath, flipping the mental switch in her head. Her Noble Phantasm activated. Then, with step forward, her body moved in an almost erratic manner as her hands held the katana in a regular kenjutsu stance. However, her intentions were simple.

Nine strikes. Nine feints. Nine directions her sword could move, as she spread out her bloodlust, focusing them on those nine spots on Musashi's body like marking targets. She would wait until the last second, to decide the real first attack, before following up with the other feints becoming real. Gensai smiled slightly, seeing Musashi's eyes move frantically, almost in panic. In that moment, she thought only one thing.

_I WON_.

It would've worked on most swordsman. Most servants would've been hit, by making a mistake. Alas... it was meaningless in this fight. Only for an instance, she could see Musashi's eye glow for a moment before becoming completely blank. Before Gensai could realize what was going on... she hit nothing but empty air. Miyamoto Musashi disappeared into nothingness. Her eyes blinked in incomprehension. Nobody could just vanish like that. Even with Presence Concealment. It wasn't a matter of speed as well. She would've seen that. Yet…

Time slowed down as she turned her head, swinging her right arm as she spun on her heel. There she was. Moving into her vision, Musashi somehow vanished and then reappeared right behind her. Even as Gensai moved, it was already too late. With the ease of kicking a round rock down the hell, she moved her arm. The manslayer's blade was cut like it was the air around it. As the shard spun in the air, Gensai tried to move away. Yet again, with a face of complete relaxation, her eye glowing, Musashi cut through her stomach. Agony filled her, as she felt the wet warm fluid spilling out, her intestines trying to come out. Stumbling backwards, she fell on her knees, hand on the cloth that was quickly turning red. Numbly, she opened up her kimono, revealing her bandaged chest... and the red stained sarashi, which was starting to drip. Gensai could only stare at it in shock before looking up.

It felt like it was predestined. Movements that just couldn't be stopped, as if floating down a river. Only one path existed and Miyamoto Musashi decided it. She grit her teeth, groaning in agony as she shakingly raised her bloody right hand.

Was... was the gap between them truly so wide?!

"If I didn't fight Kojiro already, that could've been close," Musashi said casually. With a powerful swing, the blood flew away from her blade. She nodded, a smile on her face as she moved a few steps back. "Not bad. You're pretty good at controlling your own mind. I actually saw all of those strikes." Licking her lips, Musashi shrugged with her eyes half lidded. "But there's more than death, y'know?" In an instance, it disappeared, leaving behind a childish smirk as she pointed at the manslayer. "Phew, good sarashi you got there."

Gensai couldn't help but hold back a scoff. Those enchantments of Caster didn't do anything to stop that blade from cutting her. Only the secondary function, to limit the "leaking" were active. The blood and the guts were held back as much as possible, as well as the magical energy, but Gensai knew her own body. She was dying just from that strike alone. As resignation began to fill her mind, she noticed when Musashi blinked for some reason, tilting her head. Turning around, as much as it pained her, Gensai's eyes widened.

A soldier. A captain, actually. He stepped forward, with tears in his eyes. She could only let out a weak grunt. Right. They were still here. She completely forgot about them. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what this was about, her eyes widened when the man presented something to her. Alcohol and cloth, no, another sarashi.

"Please. Allow us," he said in a humble tone, lowering his head. "It might not be much but-"

"Why?" Gensai asked weakly, cutting him off. "None of you will remember nor even exist when this is over. Your reason of existence is because of this Singularity, just like us." She shook her head, slowly, in confusion. "We have never cared for what happened to you."

"Maybe so. Maybe all of this is meaningless. Perhaps we are just pawns, unimportant in the large scheme." The captain took a deep shivering breath, looking up with pure respect in his eyes. " However... it has been a privilege nonetheless, to witness your fights. The madness of Berserker. The ferocity of Saber. And you and your skill. As a soldier, no, as a warrior... I can't let it end like this." He presented the items once more. "So please. Allow us that honor. If only to see a few more seconds of this fight."

In the past, Gensai would've refused. One shouldn't fight against death in an unseemingly fashion. However... that was before she finally realized the truth. Against Okita. Against Musashi in this instance. She... she also didn't want it to end like this. With a deep breath, she took the items from his hands. As the man shed more tears of happiness, before moving away as fast as he could, Gensai glanced at Musashi, who had silently watched all of it happen.

"If I may," Gensai asked, no, pleaded quietly. The latter scratched the back of her head before letting out a sigh, a smile appearing on her face.

"Well, after all that, it feels kinda bad to say no, right?" She nodded at Gensai. "Go on."

It didn't take long. She was long experienced in wrapping herself in cloth on her own. Quickly, she made sure the optimal pressure was applied, before pouring the alcohol onto it. Even as the new cloth was starting to get stained in red, it held, holding onto the otherwise lost energy and fluids. Still... in the end it merely delayed the inevitable. But Gensai was grateful nonetheless, as she stood up with gritted teeth, pulling out her shorter sword out. Turning around, she forced a pained smile on her face as she nodded. Yes. This felt much better. Even if it seemed meaningless for others, it meant teh world to her, she realized in the end.

"I only have enough in me for one final attack," she muttered, more to herself than to Musashi. She clapped her hands together, closing her eyes in gratitude. If only... she had realized this earlier. Technique could only be refined by experience. Skill could only be forged in combat. If she had fought individuals like Musashi or Okita in her life... she could've mastered Kyousei in her life time. Gensai was sure of that. Still. Her breath came out of her mouth like steam as she took on her iaijutsu stand one last time. It wasn't too late now! She shall overcome death once more! Just like every time she did when she felt her victim's dying! It only reminded her of the thrill of surviving! That was what she wished for! Nobody wanted to die! That included Gensai! She wanted to win, absolutely and without any doubts left!

Without hesitations left, she opened her face, facing the woman who opened her arms in invitation, smiling in patience. Gensai nodded ever so slightly, before she let out the loudest scream she ever did in her life, pushing off the ground, her left foot flying forward.

Her blade was unsheathed. The air pressed against her body. In a short arc, it aimed for Musashi's throat. But as expected, it was blocked. Musashi's eyes widened in surprise, as edge clashed agaisnt edge and ground away at each other as Gensai didn't stop her momentum. The surprise was understandable, as her Noble Phantamsm wasn't activated. But it was merely the prelude of the best draw she had ever done. Her left foot stomped on the ground. The mental trigger flipped in her mind. She spun away from Musashi, who was raising her blades at the chance. Instead of attacking however, the latter stumbled, as if dragged forward. The wind flew into the void that was created between them, from the powerful clash. With another scream, Gensai sheathed her sword before swinging it again, using the force of the spin and her right foot to increase her speed even more, the fastest she had ever moved. Her body screamed in pain, as if they were threatened to be torn apart. Yet Gensai felt more alive than ever.

It was her best attack she had ever executed. There was no doubt about it.

However.

It was still not enough to reach the Void in front of her. One moment, she could see her blade just an instant away from returning the favor, from cutting Musashi's stomach open and killing her instantly as her Noble Phantasm would take effect. The next, the Nioh from before looked down at her, its lower left arm swung up already. Her sword broke. The steel was snapped as if it was nothing. She couldn't see it, Gensai realized. She couldn't see when Musashi sheathed her swords, standing in defiance, her feet anchoring her on the ground. And despite the clear attack that shattered her blade... no sword was out. Only that... that figure. Gensai couldn't be seeing it. The massive four armed figure. It couldn't exist. It was just an illusion, a representation of Musashi's battle spirit as she would move. Yet... it felt so real, the pressure. Gensai was so sure she was about to be cut down by a giant, moving by Musashi's will who didn't even twitch in her eyes.

_Miyamoto Musashi._

So that was Miyamoto Musashi's Noble Phantasm. It was breathtaking. Even so, Gensai didn't give up. The upper right arm swung down, She barely dodged it by jumping back, feeling the force and heat that exploded near her face. But doing so was a mistake. Its upper left arm moved, this time hitting her. Her sword arm soared through the air immediately. Ignoring the shock of pain, she rushed forward, grabbing her broken short sword by its handle as it flew through the air with her left arm.

_I swear... Next time..._

Just as she tried to swing her only arm down, that too disappeared. Armless, she was forced backwards as the giant used its last lower right sword. But even then, even if she was a failure of a swordswoman in that instance, she pushed forward, swinging her right foot up. It never reached, as Musashi, at last, held her katana to her side, surging with unknown energy. The strongest swordswoman Gensai ever faced smiled at her and Gensai couldn't help but feel the same happiness.

_...will be different._

With her eyes wide, she smiled softly, burning the searing light into her memory as the energy hit her head on.

/

That was close, Musashi thought in her head, staring at the dust clearing up. As expected, nothing was left of Gensai after that attack. Exhaling slowly, not having realized she barely breathed back then, she saw her sweat drip down from her forehead. There were way too many close calls! Especially those last two moves! If she was just a second to slow... She shook her head before moving her arm up, intending to wipe off the sweat. As she did so however, she hissed, feeling the burn in her arm.

"Ouch!"

Raising her right arm, her eyes widened a bit. There was a shard of the blade she broke earlier. _When did she...?_ A kick from earlier, before she hit Gensai with her Noble Phantasm? Musashi had no idea since when she was injured. It was already disappearing into golden light, so she quickly pulled out some bandages she kept for such an occasion. Still, at the sight of blood and the forming gaping hole in her arm, she couldn't help but lower her head with a smirk, chidingly clicking her tongue at herself.

If Gensai could've used that instant death of hers at any time...

"Hah, I still have a lot to learn, hm?" She muttered to herself as she wrapped the wound up. Man, she was really looking forward to fighting her again! It was totally possible , with Chaldea! She learned a lot from that. As expected, she didn't reach the top just yet! Suddenly a familiar feeling tugged at her. She let out a sigh as she looked at herself, the all too well known phenomena starting to cover her. But just as she closer her eyes in resignation, the earth rumbled.

As she almost fell on her butt, flailing her arms wildly, she looked up before her eyes widened. At the sight, she pouted even as she started to disappear.

"Ah, c'mon, I really want to see that now!"

Still, she knew she couldn't fight it now. So as the soldiers around her stared up in shock, not even being given the break to mourn the loss of one of their leading servants, Musashi put her hands on her hips as she stared at the three figures, standing on an invisible platform high in the sky.

"Give them hell, partner... "

With that, Miyamoto Musashi's part in this event came to a close.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Past Mistakes**

_"__Shouldn't we help the people?"_

_Agrippina froze up as she tended to the flowers in their room. It was an unnatural reaction, she knew that. It was an innocent enough question, from a small innocent girl. But she just couldn't help it. She feared the day would come. The day... her own daughter would act out of her expectations. Even after all of her teachings about how to live as a noble and as an emperor. Even after all the hard work to balance being a "decent mother" and shaping her as the person Agrippina needed... Nero, in the end, defied her. As Agrippina turned around, she didn't see her, tilting her head with curiosity._

_She saw herself in that instance. Just when she entertained the same thoughts, before she faced the hard truth of reality. Immediately, she imagined her future. Nero, acting exactly like her, jaded by everything around her, all the betrayal and disappointments. Not as the dumb smiling puppet who never questioned, but as a dangerous individual that could take her down. She forced a small smile on her face, hiding her hands behind her back as they shivered._

_It appeared she had to commit to that plan after all. Squash the possible root of defiance before it could properly grow out. She didn't want to spend the time and resources to do this but in the end, her daughter didn't give her much of a choice now. Leaning forward, after making sure her hands are steady, she hugged Nero, who giggled a bit at the touch._

_"Nero, my dear... How about we have a drink together while we talk about this?" She whispered into the girl's ear. Nero eyes widened in excitement, pushing herself out of the hold before jumping up and down with sparkles in her eyes._

_"I get to drink wine?!" She threw her arms up, celebrating the occasion."Yay!"_

_Agrippina nodded, reaching for the small bag she had hidden on her body. She ignored the pain in her chest as she saw her daughter and took a deep breath._

_She had a lot of work to do with Nero after all._

/

"You are closing in on Agrippina," Mash said through the comms and he could hear her pumping her fists at him in encouragement. "Just a few more turns and you should be there, senpai!"

Man, he never realized how much he missed those innocent updates. It was too quiet in his own head sometimes. With a small nod, he followed the instructions he was given, walking behind Nero as he did so.

"Thanks, Mash." He licked his lips, narrowing his eyes a bit. It has been some time since they began this operation. Around that time, George and Okita... He shook his head, but he couldn't help but voice out his worries. "Gotta be honest, I'm a bit worried about Musashi and Mordred."

"Well, we can't exactly monitor them since you are our eyes and ears." He could imagine Da Vinci shrug. "But I'm sure they'll be fine!"

They probably were. The one who worried him the most was the servant in front of him. She was quiet. Too quiet. Then there was the discussion in the underground. Her desire to actually take on Assassin or Saber instead of Mordred or Musashi. Of course those ideas were immediately shot down. They needed Nero's versatility against Caster. It wouldn't be as effective against Saber and their own Saber squad would be perfect against the enemy manslayer. So in the end, she accepted.

It did not erase the cause of starting the discussion in the first place. With a deep breath, he quickened his pace before putting a hand on her shoulder. She blinked, glancing at him, not stopping their walk.

"Nero. Are you okay?"

She stumbled in her step for a moment. She forced a fake smile on her face, opening her mouth to give an excuse. But at the flat look she received from Ritsuka, she lowered her head with a sigh, stopping any pretenses.

"It is so obvious, isn't it?" She muttered quietly.

"I mean, I can tell too."

"And that's Mash!" Da Vinci joked, a loud laugh sounding through their communications. A small whine, with Mash most likely pouting, he could feel the glare that was directed at the director of Chaldea.

"Miss Da Vinci, I am in punching range!"

"Given you can't enter your Demi Servant mode, I'm not that afraid."

"I am also in punching range and I owe Miss Kyrielight a favor," Sherlock added casually, causing Da Vinci to clear her throat.

"Shutting up then!"

"Well, now that's out of the way... " Ritsuka said, shaking his head in exasperation at the peanut gallery. He crossed his arms, raising a concerned eyebrow at Nero as they took a right turn. "Was it that bad?"

"Oh, I came to terms with my past a long time ago. It isn't that much of an issue," Nero waved her hand dismissively and to Ritsuka's surprise, he could tell she was being honest. Weird. But in the end, she was still bothered and lowered her head with a sigh. "It's just... " She clicked her tongue and met his eyes with deep sadness within them. "Praetor. You've seen what was down there." Her hand began to shake, which she grabbed with a glare. "She despises me. So much. It... it was a bit eye opening seeing it laid out like this, directly to me. I always suspected it, but knowing is giving it a different kind of context, you know?"

Always suspected it? So she never knew for certain? Given that Nero executed her mother in the end that felt... wrong. Licking his lips, he thought about broaching the subject. But in the end, he decided to let his pure curiosity do the talk.

"Did you ever just talk with her?"

At his question, Nero could only blink slowly. Tilting her head, as if he said something stupid, she gave him an incredulous expression.

"How could I?" She asked in disbelief. "We never loved each other. We only played the part of mother and daughter."

"So you never tried," Ritsuka concluded, crossing his arms.

"Umu." She stopped in her steps. Putting her hands on her hips, she sent Ritsuka a frown. "Are you implying I should try now?"

"In a way. You might not get this chance again." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Look, I'm not going to say you and your mother should get along now. Not after everything you two have done to each other. But I think it's gonna help you a lot if you settle things properly."

Nero stared at him with wide eyes. Slowly, she lowered her head, biting her lip in consideration.

"Maybe... " Her eyes lightened up, resolve returning to them as she shook her head. "No. You're right. Thank you, praetor. I made up my mind." She exploded from soft words to a loud laughter, throwing her head back as she puffed her chest out. "Ha, to believe I was this foolish! I should just face her head on! I already have a plan as for how!"

"Right now?" Ritsuka asked with some concern. While he was happy she had her self confidence back, which was pretty easy to get back, he was concerned at how she pronounced "plan". To his dismay, she pressed her lips together for a moment. Then she waved her hand dismissively, smile returning to her face.

"More of a improvisation, but what kind of actor would I be if I can't do that?"

"Uhm, please stick to the plan," Mash pleaded quietly, interrupting the radio silence on their side. Nero merely laughed louder at that .

"No worries, Mash! It shall be alright!"

Ritsuka chuckled when he heard the Demi-Servant sigh. But her voice hitched for a moment. In that instance, he and Nero stiffened up, tensing up for com-

"Oh really~?"

Agrippina was right there. In front of Nero. The Saber could barely throw her arm back, a weird light emanating from it as it covered Ritsuka, before the enemy Caster splattered Nero's face with a cup of... wine? Before he could question what that was about, the effect took place in an instant. One moment Nero stood there, blade out and ready for combat. The next moment, she collapsed with a scream, clutching her head so hard he could've sworn her fingers dug into her skull.

"Then let me welcome you and your pitiful act... Daughter of mine~!" Agrippina sang in a mocking voice, looking down on Nero as she rolled over the floor. Ritsuka immediately went on his knees and put his hands on his Saber, turning her so he could face her. He felt his chest fill with rage when Nero's own mother seemed to relish in her pain, an eerie laugh escaping her. But no. He had to focus on his servant's well being for now!

"Nero! What's wrong?!" He yelled with worry, but his voice only served to further distort her expression into agony.

"She was using the poison resistance skill from her Imperial Privilege, yet her Saint Graph is suffering from mental damage! Why?!" Mash shouted through the comms, increasing Ritsuka's confusion. They knew they were going to face Agrippina. Naturally, Nero prepared accordingly. Yet it seemed like her defenses were nothing to whatever wine was thrown to her face! Suddenly, Sherlock's voice filled his ears, grave in tone.

"Phantom Pain." Before Ritsuka could ask for an explanation, the Ruler continued in a calm manner. "She recognizes the taste. According to legends, her mother kept poisoning her with wine to make her compliant. That memory is engraved into her very soul, it appears."

"Senpai, you need to get out of there! Nero is losing control over her skill!"

"No, he has to-"

Before Da Vinci and Mash could finish their discussion, the world shifted around Ritsuka. One moment, they were in a hallway, the next they were on the ground of ... recreation room? There was merely a table in the middle, as if to enjoy the wind from outside the balcony. IT couldn't be the actual balcony of this mansion however, since otherwise he should be hearing two Saber's bashing their brains in. Before he could focus on what Chaldea wanted to say to him however, his senses almost exploded as they were splattered with wine, most likely poisonous as well. Nero's screams, after her eyes widened in recognition of this room, intensified while Ritsuka began to feel dizzy. Whatever Nero casted wasn't perfect then.

"You can't escape." Agrippina whispered, her hand on the chair as she looked down at Nero. "You are in my domain now."

"M-mother... " The daughter stammered out, her voice raspy from the pain she was experiencing. The Caster's breath hitched, her arm beginning to vibrate, causing the chair to rattle. Then, her face became a snarl as she kicked her own child against the head.

"Did you really believe I didn't see this coming?! After the first time you betrayed me and ordered my death?!" She stomped on Nero's head, pressing down as the latter cried out in pain. "DO YOU THINK SO LITTLE OF ME?!"

Spluttering at the wine being poured from somewhere, Ritsuka tried to gather his thoughts, tried to focus. But the world shifted once again and this time the smell of smoke invaded his nostrils, causing him to cough violently. Glancing around in panic, he saw that they were in the streets of Rome, which were on fire. Roars of anger filled the air as a mob passed through. By now, Ritsuka realized what Agrippina was doing.

She was making Nero relive her dark past. Judging from how Nero began to hit the ground violently, causing it to break underneath her, it was working.

"Of course you do! You're Nero, you're better than everyone, aren't you?!" Agrippina's sarcasm in her voice reached new heights as she forced Nero's mouth open and poured more wine down her throat, shaking and tugging at her hair once she was done. "Nothing goes wrong, you are free of any consequences, aren't you?!"

A slap across the face and they were back in the room from before. Then another slap, with greater force, before Agrippina forced herself to stand up,taking a few steps back. Her heavy breathing, in the face of her daughter's tortured expression, slowly calmed down. Then, an eerily calm smile was on her face as she went on her knees.

"You're wrong. Your spouse killed herself. The nobles worked behind your back once I was gone. Killing me spelled your doom." Her voice became quieter when she put her hand on Nero's hair, as if petting an animal. "But it is alright. Just return and take your proper place."

A light appeared on her right hand, before a golden chalice formed in it. Shaking it a bit, she offered it to Nero with a small laugh, as if she made an innocent joke.

"I am your mother after all. I can make sure this stops." She gestured at her daughter, who cried tears as she choked and sobbed at the pain, trying to massage her temples to make it go away to no avail. Agrippina sighed in pity, stroking the hair as she leaned in, her voice turning into a whisper. "That this… doesn't happen again. You want that, don't you? My beautiful doll... "

She felt assured of her victor. That it was only a matter of time until Nero would surrender to the pain. However, the enemy made two simple mistakes. The first was that Nero was tougher than she expected. Even with the agony clear on her face... she refused to face her mother, eyes clenched shut despite the tears. It only forced her mother to try harder, to focus more on trying to break Nero. The second mistake?

She ignored Ritsuka and Chaldea. In that moment of reprieve, where his senses were no longer being assaulted by a flood of wine that drenched him or smoke that made him dizzy, the master was finally able to focus and hear properly. Finally, he could come up with a proper plan, just as Da Vinci's voice reached his ears.

"Use a command seal! It's the only way!"

He growled as he raised his hand, the second of his command seals glowing. He already planned to do this, but it was nice to get "official" permission anyway. Not to mention...

Ritsuka had enough of this. With a deep breath, he concentrated on his bond with Nero. Then, the command seals lend power to his words.

"Nero! **Overcome your mother**!"

A disappointed sigh escaped from Agrippina, who turned her head ever so slightly.

"How rude, to interrupt such a moment between-"

Nero stopped moving completely and became utterly silent when the second command seal glowed and disappeared. Agrippina's eyes widened for an instance, before much to Ritsuka's credit, she retreated almost immediately. The walls shifted for her as the room twisted. Just as it closed up however, Nero made her move.

She flung Ritsuka over her shoulder in an instance. Then as the room's walls came at them, as if to squish them, she glowed for a moment before just running through the walls like a bulldozer. She didn't care what came after her, her sword appearing in her hand as she became a blur.

Attacks of rocks and stone. Poison and Acid. Nero ignored all of them as she pushed through with Ritsuka in tow. The Demon Pillar's limbs couldn't reach her in time, not keeping up with her movement. Then, in the end, they have arrived.

In the throne room.

Agrippina was sitting on her throne, sweat drenched, as she pressed her back against her seat. Eyes wide, she hyperventilated as the Demon Pillar Stolas behind her began to twitch, as if responding to her inner turmoil. The reason was simple. Nero, standing there, snapping her fingers to dry herself off. Then patting the dust off herself, she followed up with fixing her hair a bit. Pushing it back at last, she faced her mother properly, with her hands on her hips.

"Phew." She wiped her forehead with a relaxed face, only the tears a sign of her turmoil. With a smirk, she waved her finger in a chiding manner, full with confidence. "That was very dirty of you, mother." Coyly, she raised an eyebrow as she put a finger on her mouth. "So afraid of me?"

"You overcame it," Agrippina muttered in abject terror, her hands gripping the handles of her throne so tightly it began to give in.

"Umu! After all...I am the true emperor!" Spreading her arms out, Nero let out a boisterous laughter. "This is nothing for me! I just needed a little bit of help!"

In that instance, Ritsuka's hope for ending it in the easy way were dashed. The fear and horror disappeared the moment Nero said 'emperor'. Instead, veins popped out on her skin as she growled, leaning forward at the challenge. Then, with one deep breath, the proud facade returned. Standing next to Nero, he could see that the latter's face faltered, replaced by resignation.

"True emperor... Well, if you think so?" Agrippina sighed dramatically, shaking her head as she crossed her legs. "To believe you'd keep throwing away my generosity. My poison would've given you a far less painful defeat." Letting out a huff, she twirled her hand at Nero. "Now then. Here you stand. The savior of mankind and my own chi-"

"Enough, mother."

The grave voice interrupted Agrippina. She blinked in shock. Ritsuka couldn't help but share that sentiment. Not a speck of humor was in Nero's face. Instead, only a glare met them. With curiosity, Caster leaned forward, her hand on her chin.

"Oh?"

"Umu." She looked down, her hand on her chest. "Our past life has been based on lies. Never a speck of honesty in them. We always avoided this. Hidden our true feelings." She shook her head and faced her mother with defiance. "No more. This time... " She held up her blade with a battle cry, pointing at her mother. "We shall have a proper talk between mother and daughter! You will receive all that is me...and you will do the same!"

Incomprehension. That was what represented Agrippina's reaction. Her eye twitched. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. But in the end... she threw her head back and began to laugh, almost like a maniac.

"Ha... hahahahaha!" She clapped her hand a few times, shooting up from her throne as she pointed at her daughter and her face of resolve. "Spoken like a true child! Fine. Yes, that suits me just fine. I had those feelings bottled up in me since aeons ago." She licked her lips as if something dawned to her. "But first... a proper funeral site!"

A snap of her fingers. Than Stolas began to glow. In an instance, Nero grabbed onto Ritsuka, before the Pillar grabbed onto them. The G-Forces pressed against the master, as they were moved in an extremely high speed. As sudden as it happened, it stopped. Unveiling itself, he could do nothing but gape.

"That is-"

"An invisible platform?"

Mash and Da Vinci made their comments in surprise and Ritsuka could only nod dumbly. They were above the city. As if floating on thin air, they stood in the sky, looking down on the structures. However, their feet were on solid ground. No, more like solidified light of some sorts? He heard Da Vinci explain something but he tuned it out. After all, the real even was in front of him. In form of Nero clenching her hold on her weapon, as she faced a cocoon made out of the Demon Pillar. Slowly it revealed what was inside, or rather, what was connected to the main pillar now.

Agrippina transformed. Gone was the revealing outfit she had. Instead, her body was covered in the Demon Pillar, with a helmet reminiscient of the Pillar's human forms from previous Singularities. But it was quite fitting on the body, revealing her curves and all, while also looking like sturdy armor. Even as it was connected to the pillar, looking like there were tentacles forming out of her back, Ritsuka couldn't contain the squeal in his voice. It... it…

"It's a Kamen Rider!"

"Senpai, now is not the time to admire the enemy!"

"Sorry, but it's so cool!" Ritsuka shouted. Yes, he felt very afraid right now. But his inner child couldn't help itself! The voice was distorted as well, giving that outfit even more depth to it!

"You like to perform, don't you?" Agrippina asked quietly before spreading her arms. "Well, here you go! Your grand stage, to die on! So that everyone can see how I am superior to you! Like the ants looking up at their fake savior!"

"Praetor, stay back." As Ritsuka did so, Nero let out a whistle as she glanced down. Then, with a twirl of her blade, she cracked her neck with a smirk. "It suits me just fine. I had a plan to get to this point, but thank you for doing the work for me, mother!"

"Famous last words!" Agrippina shouted, her arms twitching as the Demon Pillar behind her stirred to life.

"Oh?" Her voice rose to the challenge, her smile becoming tainted with her own anger. "But we are going to have a long talk and you're going to listen for once... Julia Agrippina!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22****:**** Communication**

Whatever Agrippina did with this fusion... it was potent. The wind was strong, so high up. Yet it wasn't nature that caused this vortex that forced Ritsuka on his knees, in fear of flying of this invisible platform. No, it was the rampaging, almost berserker-like onslaught of attacks of Agrippina. Connected to Stola directly now, she could now move a dozens of its tendrils at the same time, as she slammed them over and over onto Nero. The latter glowed with a distracting light, but it didn't seem to do much than increase her stamina. Her arm blurred, the crimson blade guarding against the attacks over and over again.

However, Agrippina was not content with just such attacks. Having apparently given up on poison, given Nero's resistance, she took to the field herself, taking out a dagger that the Demon Pillar began to cover as well.

"Where are your words now?!" Her dagger clashed with the sword and in a surprising feat of strength, started to push Nero back, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't you want to talk?!"

"I was waiting for you!" The Saber gritted her teeth, a confident smile on her face as she pushed back, her hand on the back of her blade. "Elders first and what not!"

Agrippina snarled and raised her free left hand, snapping her fingers. In an instance, light condensed above Nero's head. She looked up, clicking her tongue before gritting her teeth. A pillar of light crashed down on her, but it didn't cause much damage, only looking minorly in pain from that. However, as Nero leaned her head back quickly, the cut on her forehead caused her to hiss. Agrippina then pressed the offensive from that opening, her dagger oozing a purple mist out. So she was using poison after all, Ritsuka thought with bated breath.

"There you go again! Always thinking of yourself superior!" Her arms blurred, her armor seemingly bulging from her intent and she jabbed away at Nero's guard with her own blade. "Where from?! What is the source of that pride?!" Cuts started to appear on her body, as Agrippina's screams became more frantic. "Everything you have, you have from me!" With a front kick, she pushed Nero back, before pointing her finger down with a snarl, another beam of light crashing into her daughter. "I molded you! I made you!"

"Wrong!" Even as the light seared into the wounds, increasing the effect the poison could have, Nero stood strong. With a shout, she swung her blade, breaking the light as flames danced around on her blade. Pushing forward, she swung down, leaving a scorch mark across Agrippina who stumbled back at the sudden second wind.

"All you taught me were lies and abuse! Not a speck of true love!" Agrippina could barely block the onslaught, flinching away at the fire. "All you did was build an illusion for yourself, ignoring the truth! Just like this fake empire of yours!" Glowing sparks began to fall off Nero as she stopped for just a moment, spreading her arms open. "Look around you! What of this is real?!"

Instead of actually looking around, Agrippina took that opening. A ball of light formed in her hand, but instead of just attacking Nero with it, it just exploded. Ritsuka flinched, temporarily blinded. From the way his servant yelled out in pain, before the sound of flesh being cut reached his ears, she didn't react any better to it either.

"It is real enough! It is an ideal!" Thuds of flesh meeting flesh sounded in the air. A gasp of pain sounded as steel clashed against steel. Then he heard Nero take a deep breath and the sound of something hard, yet not metal smashed into something, causing a yelp of pain to sound.

"And that is what got you killed, those delusions of yours!"

"Delusions?!" Agrippina screamed back, as Ritsuka slowly started to see shapes again. A tidal wave of fluids pressed down on Nero, the contents spilling over the edge of the platform as her armor slowly started to reform again, covering up the cuts and burns on her actual body. "You decided to kill me! You decided to side with the commoners than with your kind!"

Ritsuka regained his sight completely just in time to witness Nero's full power swing, actually burning off the helmet that was around Agrippina's head. Suddenly, Nero dropped her weapon. That moment of surprise on her mother's face was enough for her to tackle her down on the ground. Seated upon her, she reeled back her fists with a roar.

"They were not my kind!" The first punch smashed into her face. "Not a single one of them!" "Especially not you!" The second one was caught, but immediately, Nero snaked around and before they knew it, a strong hold around her mother's neck was held, as the Saber began to squeeze with great effort. "Are you so surprised I turned to the masses? So surprised I decided to live for them and not for your meaningless schemes?! I decided to kill you because you were surely going to kill me, the people and then destroy everything around you!"

Even as her eyes started to roll up and she gasped for air, Agrippina's skin turned red, not blue like it was supposed to. Instead of clawing at Nero's arms however, she merely let out a scream, as much as she could scream with her airways being squished. Raising her arms, she snapped her finger. Ritsuka expected an explosion. An attack with great physical force. Instead, merely a fluid out of thin air appeared and splashed onto the glowing Nero and the choked Agrippina. The former's eyes widened and she desperately tried to maintain her hold. But it was to no avail. With the fluid between them, Agrippina summoned the tendrils. Pulling at Nero with them, she pushed herself off with surprising ease. Immediately, with another snap of her fingers, a searing light created steam, erasing the fluid completely. Then, Nero was slammed on the ground, arms and legs pressed down by the Demon Pillar's tendrils. Now it was Agrippina's turn to sit on her daughter, her fists reeled back, completely forgetting about the blade of her dagger as it was clenched between one of her hands.

"What do you know about meaningless?! What do you know what could've happened?!" She punched her daughter again and again, her head bouncing against the transparent floor they were on."Have your family be killed off one by one! Be at the bottom at the hierarchy, abandoned by all around you! Have your hope and naive optimism crushed into smithereens!" Her breathing became frantic, her voice raspy from all the screaming as she put in more force into her strikes against her own daughter. "Then tell me if there's anything more important than standing on the top! To make sure that you control everything!" For a moment, Agripina stopped, spitting to the side before jabbing her finger at Nero's chest with a mocking grin. "Not to mention, everything burned around you as well! So don't you lecture me!"

Nero's muscles bulged momentarily as she spat out the blood caused by her broken nose. A feral scream escaped her, as she lifted her arms and threw the tendrils off with brute force. A headbutt later against the forehead of her mother, she shot up and summoned her blade once more. Taking a deep breath, she unleashed a furious rain of stabs upon her mother, the glow around her spreading all over the sky. Most of the armor endured the attacks, but Agrippina crossed her arms in defense as she was pushed back.

"I have every right to lecture you, mother! For I have realized the truth in the end! You never controlled anything! Especially me!" With one final charge, she stabbed her blade into her mother's right arm, who screamed in agony as blood dropped on the ground. Nero smiled through the blood on her face, tilting her head a bit as they remained in that position. "So foolish til the end, mother! Even now, you don't see it!"

In that moment of stillness, Agrippina began to twitch. With a shriek, she kicked Nero away, blood flying all over the place. Holding her injury, she gave Nero a death glare before summoning up as many tendrils as she could. Then, they all began to frantically slam down on Nero. She could defend against the first few attacks. But just like rain, the drops started to hit. slowly but surely, she was pounded down, her flesh battered and her bones cracking from the onslaught.

"See what?!" Agrippina demanded loudly, yet no answer came. "What?!" Her voice screeched through the area, yet Nero silently endured the onslaught, not a sign of surrender or dimmering of her own light. "WHhhhhhhhaaaaat?!"

One final strike, with dozens of tendrils at the same time, slammed down. Agrippina breathed heavily, hunched over with her eyes twitching. A weak smile appeared on her face, as if she felt she won. But then, the world exploded into shining light.

"Ha... ha... ha... "

Nero was beaten up like crazy. Her right arm was bend in a way it wasn't supposed to bend. Her skin was more red with blood than her actual skin color. However. Despite all of that... Nero rose, the shining glow more bright than ever with a wide smile. The master of Chaldea couldn't help but grasp the hem of his shirt at the sight. Ever since the start of the fight, the warmth in his chest was ever growing. That feeling of just pure belief that this was going to happen. That Nero would be unyielding no matter what. And now? Ritsuka felt like he could barely breathe at Nero's aura, as she shone gloriously like the sun. Not even Agrippina was unaffected by it, eyes wide, not understanding what she was feeling as she took a step back in fear.

"What are you smiling about?" Shivers entered her face as she gulped and pointed at Nero accusingly. "Why are you glowing like that?!"

Her laughter was almost like a siren song. Their eyes were glued on to her lips, as if treating her sounds as gospel. Then, when she slowly rose her finger, her right arm as if defying the fact it should be broken, they followed it without a second thought with their gaze.

"It is... so simple," Nero said with a tired voice, yet her words reached all of the empire. Letting out a tsk, she waved her finger. "One. Did you ever try to get the people on your side?"

"I-"

"No. You did not," Nero interrupted her mother, her voice filled with authority and leaving no room for objections as Agrippina physically flinched. "You ignored them, forgetting they are the foundation of the empire. The first reason you aren't fit as an Emperor. You know they don't respect you because of that, so you drugged them all he-!"

"Shut up!"

A tendril slapped Nero right across the face. But Agrippina backed off in horror when the Emperor of Rome didn't even bat an eye at the attack. Instead, she merely raised her second finger, her eyes narrowed as her light began to become like snowflakes, falling down to the ground.

"Two. An Emperor can never falter, even at the face of the abyss," she declared, putting a hand on her chest. Then, a pitying sigh escaped her when she gestured towards the Caster. "Yet you were so flawed that everyone could see it. Who can believe in someone who doesn't even belief in themselves, who would hid themselves in the darkness?! You made me the Emperor, not yourself!" She spread her arms open in invitation, daring Agrippina to object to that. "Who is supposed to respect that?!"

"I said shut up!" Agrippina screamed like a child throwing a tantrum as she stomped on the ground. She took a step forward, pointing her finger at Nero accusingly. "I never-"

"And three, you could've had me. Your daughter, Nero."

The words were filled with pure hurt and regret, soft as they were. Yet they struck Agrippina in the face, her eyes wide in disbelief as she visibly flinched, dropping on the ground with her cut up armor.

"What?"

"I waited. So long. To see a chance. A chance to give you. Just for once, some honesty. Some actual love to give. If I had only tasted a fraction, had found just a miniscule reason to trust you, I would've been at your side!" Tears dropped from Nero's eyes and she wiped them off, pointing at her mother accusingly with a snarl. "But you were blind! Blind to the obvious, back then and now!"

"Blind, am I?" Agrippina muttered, shaking her head as anger returned. "Who is winning right now?!" She shot up and laughed in an ugly manner, shaking off whatever effects Nero's words had. "Who's beaten and bloodied?!"

"I don't know," Nero said quietly, a genuine smile on her face as she tilted her head. "You tell me, mother."

"Did you lose your mind... ?"

"Not as much as you did." Nero cupped her ears with a serene expression as her mother stared at her with disbelief. "Aren't you hearing it?"

It was then that Ritsuka heard it too. Clapping. Shouts. A tumult. No... cheering? Looking down, his eyes widened. It were the people. All the soldiers, all of the civilians, even the nobles, looking up at the platform and cheering. Glancing at Agrippina, she could barely comprehend what was happening, her eyes moving all over the place. Yet she saw and heard the same.

The singing praise of Nero. Ritsuka realized that they were free from the control, from the poison. But since whe-His eyes widened. Nero stopped glowing just now. Her charisma still shone, but the mysterious light stopped. Wait, did she-

"Do you realize the difference between now, mother?" Nero asked softly, before taking a deep breath. "Even at my lowest point... I never shut myself off from the world! I looked around me!" She spread her arms open, tilting her head back, daring Agrippina to say otherwise. But she merely remained silent, still trying to wrap her mind around this. "I never surrendered to fear! Not as a tool nor as a victim!" She slammed her fist onto her chest in defiance. "I took my destiny in my own hands and gave it to my followers! And I have accepted their decisions! I believed, nay, believe in them!" Looking down with a warm gaze, she chuckled lightly at the chanting of her name intensifying. "And I know they believe in me now."

She undid the poisoning. That glow wasn't for defense or offense. Those "flakes" that floated down was only to free the people. Which would explain why Nero seemed distracted at points. Naturally, realizing her opponent held back like this, Agrippina shook her head in disbelief, looking like she was slapped in the face.

"You wasted your entire time for-for this... ?!"

"It wasn't a waste! None of those people are a waste!" She screamed, causing her mother to flinch back. She pointed down with a look of disappointment and challenge. "What is a country without its people?! What is an empire if there is nobody to heed the emperor?!" A giggle escaped her as she spun around on her feet and clapped her hands in the air a few times. "What is the point of an actor, without an audience?!"

The cheers intensified, praising their savior. Agrippina snarled swinging down her arm at the same time as a tendril. Yet Nero danced around with smooth speed, despite her injuries. Again and again Agrippina tried, her frustration growing with each hit.

"This is your game then?! Just fooling around?!"

"Nay," Nero replied at the despair she faced. Shaking her head even as she spun and jumped around, her face was filled with determination. "I seriously talked with you. I seriously fought with you. And I gave it my all to free those people. Now?" She twirled her blade, deflecting the blows with much greater ease before skidding over the ground and coming to a stop, as she pointed the tip at her mother. "Now I will give it my all to finish this."

"You-You really think you can win this?!" Agrippina roared, summoning up all the power the Demon Pillar had, the eyes behind her and on her body shining. However, Nero merely quietly shook her head with a sad expression.

"I have already won the moment you looked at me like this," Nero quietly responded as she planted the sword on the invisible ground, a magic seal appearing. "With eyes of defeat."

Energy surged as light was shot at Nero. But already, she held her arm up dramatically, taking a deep breath-

"Witness the representation of my dream! **Aestus Domus Aurea**!"

The beams never reached her. Instead, roses of flowers rained down on them. Before Ritsuka knew it, they have arrived. The golden and crimson grand theater of Nero. The populace was on its grounds, letting out sounds of wonder at the sight. Meanwhile, they were floating above. With victory and luck on her side now, in her own domain, Nero took ahold of her weapon again.

"This is the difference between us, mother. When you looked at your past... you shackled yourself to it." She shook her head slowly as she raised her weapon. "It truly is a shame."

"Nero... !" Agrippina bit out, summoning the Demon Pillar around her to repair her armor and create a shield. Alas. It was not enough.

"**Laus Saint Claudius**!"

Nero disappeared in a flash. Then, she appeared right behind her mother, sword burning brightly, barely in time for her cocoon to form. Yet it didn't matter. The explosion occured, the flames eating Agrippina alive. She screamed in agony and with one last glorious fire, the Noble Phantasm of Nero disappeared, returning to the false Empire that was Agrippina's illusion. The cheers reached a new height at the smoke. Panting in exhaustion, Nero let her weapon disappear and slowly stepped forward, but not before waving at her audience with a smile. Ritsuka stood up, feeling it was safe to do so. Following Nero from behind, the smoke started to clear, revealing what was left of Agrippina.

The armor was charred or completely gone at places. Her skin was burned. Even as she started to heal up a bit, the pale color returning, it did not return her right arm that was gone. On her knees, she glanced up, breathing heavily herself. Tears falling from her eyes, she merely lowered her head in frustration.

"Go on," she bit out, defiance in her eyes, not willing to give Nero the satisfaction of begging. "Do it."

"So I will." Nero went down on her knees herself, facing her victim on the same eye level. With a deep breath, her face was a cool mask. "Julia Agrippina... "

A wide smile appeared on her face as she put her hand on her heart.

"I forgive you."

The woman froze up. Her tears seemed to stop, too shocked at the first she had heard. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rose her face to meet Nero's eyes, her own eyes as wide as they could be.

"What?" She asked numbly. Her daughter sighed, averting her eyes for a moment with a frown.

"I am not absolving you of your crimes. What you did was monstrous." Closing her eyes for just a moment, Nero shook her head. "However, I am not willing to spend my time with hatred in my heart for you."

"Even if our lives were filled with mistakes. Even if you and I brought suffering to each other... " She weakly shrugged, an amused expression on her face. "You are still my flesh and blood. And while I disagree with your feelings to some degree... " Nero couldn't the small laugh from bubbling up from her chest. "I have finally faced them. This is the first time I felt like I am your daughter."

"Not to mention fighting you has been incredibly therapeutic!" She shouted, stretching her neck a bit with a wince before wiping some blood off her face. Following that, her features softened once more, looking into the mirror that were her mother's utterly dazed eyes. "I can only hope it was the same for you."

"And in the end... While you didn't create me as you said... Having you in my life shaped the way it did. You were my adversary. The person I compared myself to at any time. The one I wanted to surpass, even after your death. I cannot deny that. So for that, I can thank you."

Nero extended her hand, biting her lip as she let out a shivering breath. When Agrippina looked down before looking up, as if she was staring at something alien, Nero's voice was filled with a plead.

"Stop this. Please. Accept this hand of mine," her voice was a whisper, yet it shook Caster's core as she shuddered, life and mind returning to her eyes as she blinked. "It's never too late, mother."

"I-"

They never heard her answer, as she was about to move her only arm left. In defiance or acceptance, Ritsuka wouldn't know. All three of them heard the gasps and horror when the people below them screamed. Just as he turned his head, Mash's shrill voice entered his ears.

"INCOMING!"

That was all he could hear, before both her and the people, were drowned out by the pure rage that was the roar coming closer and closer, louder and louder. Then, just as Nero grabbed both him and her mother, the platform they were standing on shattered. Not faded away or disappeared, it was destroyed like a rocket destroying a rock. As they fell down, Ritsuka bit his lips, drawing blood as the roar was mixed in with laughter, not born out of amusement but born out of the pure need to kill, to destroy. It was also definitely male. It only meant one thing, he thought, wishing it was not so.

Mordred lost.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23****:**** Defiance**

Mordred breathed heavily, grabbing the broken piece of her helmet and threw it away, before spitting out some blood. Well, that thing was useless now. Wasn't more than loosely attached on top of the right side of her head anyway. She winced, checking her body over. Bruises, pieces of her armor gone, replaced by cuts on her flesh, her jaw felt sore as heck... Not to mention she was pretty sure she broke a rip or two. A smirk appeared on her face, despite her exhaustion.

At least she managed to dish out some damage herself. The guy definitely lost some teeth. Blood streamed down his head and there were plenty of bruises and cuts on his body as well. Not that it changed much about his appearance given how terrible he looked like anyway, but hey, progress. He cracked his neck, narrowing his eyes a bit at her smirk before pointing his blade at her, red stained like her Clarent as they began to circle around each other on the red sand they stood upon.

"Lookin' tired, bitch."

"Nah." She cracked her neck and took a deep breath. "Just waiting for you, asshole!"

Again, they smashed into each other. What followed couldn't be called a proper sword fight. Sure, they used their swords, parrying each other, for Mordred in order to avoid getting Clarent broken, but they were wide swings. Intended to break and kill, not to use the most skill. Styles born and molded from the battlefield, used against fellow men and the monsters that lurked in the dark. Yet even as their blade clashed, they only used one arm. The other arm?

It was used to punch the other in the face. As they reeled back, they used their off balance position to throw harder, even more powerful punches, hitting again with hooks at the same time. Sometimes they would switch it up. Kicks. Headbutts. Spits. Even biting wasn't forbidden for these two warriors. All the while their blades would never stop moving. Yet despite the savagery, Mordred realized something. As she relied on her instincts to make the best move, so did her opponent. No, not merely instincts. His eyes moved with great focus, even as he grinned like a maniac. She realized she was being read a long tiem ago. Much better than her instinct could react for her. And even if the wide swings were random, they were focused, precise, to exhaust her just the right way, to move her body just in position for the strikes to hurt just a bit faster.

After forehead met forehead, they separated, taking a breather. Mordred snarled, wiping the blood from her mouth and nose. She was losing this. While she could barely hide her pain with a wide grin, her opponent didn't seem to try at all. He really didn't seem like he was bothered by the injuries at all, from the way he moved. How the hell could someone so pissed off be so tactical anyway?! She'd also look that smug and relaxed if she were winning this context of brute force, focusing on killing the other first!

"Fucking make him burn out my ass!" She muttered under her breath, massaging her right cheek as she felt something coming a bit loose. "Getting my teeth punched out here... "

Siegfried and Altera seriously weren't kidding about that guy's threat level. The fact that the latter actually knew the fucker too and even recalled him from her life as a killing machine said enough about that as well. Sure, the former gave up before it could really get going in the end, but the guy knew his fights. But there wasn't much she could do to switch it up. Any other plan, her instincts screamed at her would be a mistake. Full throttle was the way to go, without any usage of her Noble Phantasm, as it would leave her too wide open. Besides, in her current state, she would barely be able to move after she used it once. Maybe twice, tops.

Anyway, after he heard her words, Saber of Cologne grunted, rolling his shoulders even as it opened up his wounds.

"So you know who I fuckin' am?" "About damn time! Not like I ain't makin' it obvious!"

"Honestly, you're obscure as hell, jackass," Mordred taunted the man, glee entering her voice when his eyes twitched in annoyance. Haha, gotcha! The next moment her eyes widened when he appeared right next to her, swinging his sword at her from her right side. She raised Clarent, intending to knock it away... and hit nothing. Just before their blades could meet, he let go of his weapon, swiping his arm past her sword. Then before she could correct the course, his right arm snapped like a whip, hitting her straight in her face. Knocking her off balance as she flinched in pain, her eyes snapped wide when she felt the searing pain in her stomach. Looking down, even as her body moved her to avoid lethal damage, she saw his left arm holding his sword, cutting through her. As she created a wide distance, he merely remained in his lowered position, his body literally steaming and causing his wounds to bubble as he exhaled, a burning mist coming out of his mouth. Meanwhile Mordred held a hand to her side, seeing the flood of blood leaving her.

Shit. That was deep. She wouldn't last much longer because of this! She glanced at Clarent, clicking her tongue. She might actually die from doing this, but-

"Soooo... Mordred, right? Round Table Knight from that shitty island?" She looked up, clicking her tongue in annoyance. What the hell was he- "Bunch of pussies after all. Would explain why you all fail. Especially that cunt Arthur."

All of the pain she felt disappeared, numbed by the words she just heard. Slowly tilting her head, her eyes glowed as her hold on Clarent began to shake.

"What?" She growled quietly, causing her opponent to scoff dismissively, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Everyone praises your king soooo much! Even compare me to him!" He slammed his fist on his chest, ignoring the widening of his wounds as he did so as he let out a disrespectful bark of laughter. "What a fuckin' insult. He's a total failure. Couldn't keep his kingdom together and died like a bitch, to someone like ya!" He twirled his blade, tapping his shoulder with its flat side. "I died doin' what I wanted and succeeded at least!"

"...up… " Rage built up in her chest. She didn't care what her instincts told her right now. She didn't care that she needed a cool head. All she cared for was his death now, as she bared her teeth, lightning crackling around her.

"Y'know it's true. That's why you rebelled, right?" He leaned back, as if looking down on her with a face splitting grin. "Cause he's a fucking disgrace and a failure of a king!"

She saw it in her mind. The memory of her king. No matter what situation, no matter where, the people and knights saw the face of a regent who wavered at nothing. Confident. Ice cold. A face of pure steel. In her life, Mordred would come to hate it, in a way. But now? Now that some nobody insulted the king she served alongside her companions, went through so much... Magical energy exploded around her as she charged up her Noble Phantasm.

"Father was the perfect king! Nobody could've done a better job than him!" She screamed in anger, letting the blood flow on the ground as she raised her sword. "What the hell do you know about being a king anyway?! You lost your fucking kingdom and had to run away!"

"Who the fuck cares about the kingdom?!" Her opponent snarled, starting to channel energy into his sword as well. He pointed at himself with a thumb, his grin widening in defiance. "The king wins! He's the strongest! That's all that matters!"

"Can't convince insane bastards," she muttered to herself, before reeling back her arms with a growl. "I'll shut you up now!"

"FUCKIN' BRING IT!" He screamed back at her, gesturing with his hand at her at the same time. Well, who was she to deny him?!

"**Clarent Blood... ARTHUR**!"

The crimson wave, filled with all the hatred she had felt in life surged. Like a wave of death, it raced towards Saber of Cologne. He merely rooted his feet into the sand and began to swing wildly against the wave, faster than ever, sending out thing cuts of scarlet energy as well. But just like a man would try to push against the river, it didn't stop its flow. At first, he managed to push back, but it became to much. As his screaming intensified, cutting away at the wave, he was engulfed by the light before it exploded.

The effects were immediate. As the dust covered the entire area, Mordred almost fell to her knees, her head pounding and ringing at her. Crap, that hurt a lot more than expected. Blinking away the dizziness as much as she could, she tried to focus. That had to be-

Her ears caught the sound, something cutting through the air. Her body already moved, as Saber's sword was about to reach her face. But the moment she was knocking it aside, she realized that she fell for it.

The weapon was thrown. A distraction for-

A searing hot pain flared up on her right side, right where he cut her before. AS she was lifted up from the force, she screamed in pain. Glancing down, she saw him. Burned. Shaking. But very much still breathing, ragged as it was, with his fist inside her, pushing in his hot energy inside her flesh. Despite the agony she was in, she held Clarent in her left arm, about to swing down. But the swing missed, just as he stomped against her left leg. A loud crack occurred and she fell down. His left arm then rammed his thumb into her left eye socket. As it was crushed and a disgusting wet sound occured, she still tried to swing her weapon upwards. But even that, he dodged as he turned his body, making it cut him, but not deep enough to interrupt his momentum to elbow her temple with his right arm.

Landing on the ground, even as the world turned around her, even as half her vision was gone, she was about to jump up with a roar. But then, she stilled. Three attacks. Two cuts, making her arms feel like immaterial ghosts. Then a stab, into her heart, causing blood to spill out of her mouth. Pulling his weapon out, the man stumbed back a bit, a weak laugh escaping him, eyes bloodshot and twitching with anger.

"Not bad, shithead! Better than your fuckin' Rider! But ya fuckin' reap what ya sow!" He turned his head and even as she felt herself disappear, her remaining eye widened in terror. "Welp, time for the rest of the fuckers!"

She tried to reach out to him, even without any arms, but he already jumped away. Towards her master. She tried to move, tried to force herself to remain, but to no avail. All she could do... was wish for his well being. She wanted to say that with all the damage she did, they could win this easily. But, even after all that, he still moved too well despite the injuries. She had no idea how tough Nero or Musashi had it. There was a good chance they would get destroyed as well.

_Shit...shit... ! Master... don't you... lose..._

Her last strength left her, her head falling down. Her eye became dull, as the rest of her disappeared, never knowing if her wish would come true, alone on the bloodstained sands of the lone island.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Redemption**

How fitting. Now she truly hit rock bottom. If Agrippina's body didn't feel like it was utterly and completely beaten up, stepped on by oxes and lit on fire, she might've even laughed at her own circumstances. Instead, she could only glance back with her eyes half lidded. Her daughter was fuzzing over her master, frail human as he was. He looked dazed, as if not aware what was going on. Perhaps it was for the better. After all, even she felt ill at the sounds of panic and dying screams in the air. Her soldiers were doing their best. Keeping in formation, encircling him. But even at his burned, injured self, he butchered them like cattle. He didn't even care that all the explosions he caused caught the civilians as well. She grit her teeth in frustration. She really should've killed him when she had the chance, when he was still somewhat wrapped around her finger. Now? Now she had to deal with a rampaging barbarian, ruining her city!

At least whoever they sent to fight him actually did their job. Somewhat. His wounds steamed, sizzling like hot water and his skin certainly didn't look good. Yet he was moving faster and stronger than ever before. Agrippina clicked her tongue in frustration, as she stopped the bleeding of her stump at her shoulder. It was only a matter of time-

"There you fuckin' are! I'm comin' for ya!"

-until he would beeline for them with that manic grin of his, dashing forward and ignoring any attacks of the soldiers, even with some arrows inbedded in him that were burned away an instant later. She sighed. Great. Nero, as the reliable servant that she was, climbed to her feet, ignoring her own injuries just with a minor wince before summoning up her blade.

"Praetor, stand ba-"

Agrippina narrowed her eyes. That would not do, being interrupted like this. She raised her remaining arm and snapped her fingers. Instantly, from the buildings, from the ground and from above, monsters soared in she had kept back for emergencies. As they roared, more powerful than the soldiers, that should give them more time. But just to be safe...

She saved up the energy she had gathered, from the souls that died in this Singularity. While she did use some of it in her recent fight, she still paid attention to holding back enough for her plan. Well, there was no need for that now, was it? With a mental command, Stolas, battered as it was, stirred, its eyes glowing. Then, with another snap of her fingers, she walled herself in with Nero and Ritsuka, just as the stars began to fall. It wouldn't last that long and quite frankly, what she was going to do was a waste of time but... she needed to do this. With a deep breath, she turned to the two of them. More specifically her daughter. She was tense, unsure what was happening. But her eyes were filled with determination, even if she frowned in disappointment. Starting to raise her sword, she took a deep breath.

"Mother, just acce-"

Agrippina rolled her eyes and put her hand on Nero's lips. They just had this whole spiel about "talking and facing each other" yet she was already misunderstanding her again? Truly, what a foolish child. AS her daughter's eyes widened in confusion, Agrippina shushed at her as she removed her hand a bit.

"Shut it. I need to think, child."

"What are you-E-eh?"

The surprise was understandable. She too blinked like her daughter, as her remaining hand started to caress Nero's cheek. In the end, she leaned closer, humming in thought. This was the first time she took a proper look at her, as an adult. While she knew that Nero would inherit some of her beauty, there were some details she didn't catch. A certain manliness. Not something overly overt, but there were just some places where her face was more edged than round. And the eyes... they looked exactly like Agrippina's father. The color, but also the intensity of them. Mirrors of pure confidence, of belief in their own work. It could... explain a lot about her daughter actually. She sighed, slowly shaking her head, starting to use the back of her hand to move over to Nero's other cheek.

What was she doing? She could've won right then and there. Saber was still alive. He could've killed them. Then, in an opening, she could've taken him out and her wish was hers. Finally return and... She closed her eyes. Oh, who was she kidding? She sighed quietly, ignoring the confused look on her daughter's face as she opened her eyes and kept rubbing her cheeks. As Nero had phrased it... no more games. For once in her life, Agrippina faced the truth. She had lost. Simple as that. Thoroughly at that. As an emperor, an Heroic Spirit and as an opponent, she was utterly beaten. In terms of combat ability, wits and ideals. That last speech of Nero was the final strike. The moment the thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but blink in surprise. It felt like her chest felt so much lighter now. It couldn't be so simple, right? To feel at peace, just by admitting something so shameful. Yet, the shame was not there. Just... acceptance.

A tense smile appeared on her face when she looked at Nero's face, which seemingly started to enjoy her touch, from the way she started to relax a bit. Nero. Her child. The one who defeated her yet again, but this time, showed mercy and forgiveness. The thought made her feel ill. But in a different way than usual. As a storm of emotions welled up in her. An absolute chaos, mixing her feelings in a raging storm, yet she could identify each and everyone of them.

"M-mother?" Nero asked quietly, as she saw how her mother's hand began to shiver. Agrippina pressed her lips together. She knew she had to do something. Anything. If not, she would regret it all her life. Knowing that Nero would have it confirmed, that she was unable to change. That the two of them were unable to change. Agrippina didn't want to lose that way too. But what could she do? This was her first time trying this. There were no lessons to impart for her she could come up with. No wisdom or affection to offer. It all felt fake, too late to try. She needed to do something more than just stroking her face, what could it be?

As desperation took place in her mind, her breath shaking, her body moved on instinct. Before Nero could open her mouth in worry, Agrippina wrapped her arm around her daughter's head. Gently, she pulled her close, resting her face on her daughter's head. For a moment, the two of them were frozen in shock at her gesture. But then, just as Agrippina wanted to break off, realizing how silly this was... Nero leaned in. Her arms, feeling so incredibly tiny, grabbed onto her back, squeezing at them. In that instance, the actor, the emperor, the heroic spirit disappeared.

All that was left was a child wishing her mother's embrace. Tears threatened to come out of her eyes and Agrippina took a deep breath, In a genuine gesture of love, that was buried deep within her frozen, scarred heart, she leaned in as well, her face nuzzling her daughter's hair as she stroke it gently. As her daughter sobbed silently, Agrippina couldn't help but choke back a laugh edging at hysterical. That was really it, wasn't it? So simple, just to open her walls, let someone in. So simple to reach this warmth, this moment of safety and trust. This just revealed to Agrippina how much she truly wasted in her life. She was so busy trying to shape a tool, to create something to help her reach power... that she had thrown away what she always wanted.

Happiness. In that moment, Agrippina really wanted to break down, cry just as Nero was doing. Beg for forgiveness, asking if she really could deserve a second chance. Maybe even offer the grail, to ask a restart like she planned, only with another plan in mind.

But the loud crashes and explosions, muffled as they were, prevented the Caster from doing just that. There was just no time for any of that. For their sake... It was time for one final act. She tried to move back, but her daughter's grip was iron clad. It only hurt more, knowing that Nero didn't want this miracle to stop, to stay like this for all of eternity. She understood and felt the same. But in the end, she had to hurt her daughter once more. With more force, she forced her off from herself and pushed her back with some force. At Nero's tear stained face of hurt, she steeled her heart once more.

"This little moment of ours... it was entertaining." Agrippina stood up and glanced back with a sigh. "But it's time to wake up."

"It isn't-"

She sounded so desperate. Nevertheless, even as it chipped away at the armor Agrippina built up, it could not stand. Reeling back, the Caster slapped Nero across her face as hard as she could. Nothing hurt more than that, not even the wounds she had right now. The expression of pure betrayal stabbed her soul. Yet, Agrippina forced a mocking smile on her face, turning away.

"Enough! Always looking down on me…" She flipped her hair even as the area around them began to shake, her connection to the Demon Pillar weakening as it sustained more and more damage. There was almost no time left, but she still raised her voice, faking confidence. A lie was needed to make her daughter move on from this, to forget this memory that she so wanted to keep and cherish. "You may pity me! The world shall scorn me! But I will never, never accept it! My decisions are my own, child! My fate is in my grasp! For I…am the Empress!"

As Saber's roars came closer, Nero's eyes widened, just as her master's. Caster clicked her tongue. Ah. So they realized it too. Ritsuka immediately grabbed onto his servant and started to pull back, as Nero numbly shook her head. He had Agrippina's gratitude for that, useless as that was. Her daughter started to mutter under her breath, denials, but she already knew the truth of what was going to happen just as much as Agrippina and Ritsuka.

Caster of Cologne would perish here. Alone.

"With this, I have won! Now I shall run away with this only victory over you!" She closed her eyes, trying to force her tears back. Yet, as she choked, she couldn't keep the crack in her voice hidden when she glanced back, a genuine, well meaning smile on her face. "I sincerely hope we never meet again."

Immediately, she snapped her finger. The world shifted around Nero and Ritsuka, grabbing ahold of them. Desperately, the former reached out, trying to grab her mother, but ground and tendrils touching them already build up momentum as they were moved away. Good. They were leaving. Now she could-

"**MAMA!**"

The scream pierced her ears and almost ripped her heart out before crushing it. She grit her teeth and curled her hands into fists. No. She could not falter here. She couldn't be so pathetic. She didn't deserve it, after all! The loser-the loser wasn't allowed to reach for the happy ending she wanted. Her daughter had to move on from this. So instead of turning around, she merely stood tall as Nero's screams became quieter and quieter.

Just in time for the walls to give away, revealing Saber to have crashed through. Shivers went down her spine when he frantically looked around and his maddened eyes rested on her.

"You. What the fuck are you doing?"

His voice oozed murderous intent, despite the quiet tone it had. She took a deep breath. Instead of responding to him, she glanced at the soldiers, only a fraction of them left, surrounded by some monsters, beaten, bloodied, but not quite broken yet. With a small nod, she looked back at Saber, whose arm twitched, anticipating her answer.

"Evacuate. I don't care to where, just don't be here."

"U-understood, Lady Agrippina!"

Lady. A snort escaped her. More respect than she expected after everything she did. They moved quite fast too, despite the circumstances. Another thing she didn't appreciate, if not for her daughter. She moved Stolas behind her, noting the giant burn marks and cuts upon its body. She narrowed her eyes. It wouldn't remain an anchor for any longer, if more damage was sustained. But she needed to buy time. Enough for them to reach it. Enough... to stop Saber.

As if reading her mind, realizing her intentions, he threw his head back, barking out a laugh as he frantically clapped his hands, as if congratulating her in the angriest and most sarcastic way possible.

"Change of heart, ay? Didn't see that coming!" He twirled his blade and pointed it at her. "But hey, still useless as ever, bitch. I'll catch up in a couple of seconds."

She could've said many things. But... in the end, she was Agrippina after all. So a mocking smile formed on her face as she slightly leaned back her head.

"You're pathetic."

He slowly tilted his head, daring her to continue. Without hesitation, she did so with a giggle.

"Nobody remembers you." She twirled her hand at him grin widening at his twitching. "And it's only natural. You accomplished nothing. You inspired nobody. Just another man that could kill." She let out a mocking scoff. "So what? So could the Great Hun, who you crawled to and begged for help to return your kingdom. So could the great Dragonslayer, who everyone sang songs about, who you couldn't beat without that sword of yours. Yet the difference is clear. Everyone knows them. Nobody knows you. Isn't very interesting, is it now?" She shook her head in amusement, pointing at Saber as she leaned forward. "You couldn't even leech off their fame! All those tales of slaying giants, dwarfes and dragons, the throne is full with those! You had Rome, you had Bern, you had all that the Huns had to offer in the end and you did nothing with it! Of course there's nothing to your story!" Laughing mockingly she tilted her head as she leaned back. "How is that not pathetic?!"

He stared at her. Almost eerily, with utter calm. He even stopped twitching. As if he was concentrating all of his energy, to hold back, to not prove her point.

"What? No words left?" She asked quietly. "The truth hurts so much, doesn't i-"

He didn't say anything. Only sound he let out was the explosive steam coming out of his body, as it ripped his wounds open. Maybe fighting such a monster head on while provoking him to such a level of rage was not the smartest idea she had in a while. That was the only thought she had before he was right upon her. Words were on her tongue, spells of power. Her arm moved, with the tendrils behind her, the body of Stolas, battered as it was, moving with her.

It was utterly meaningless.

He didn't bother using his blade. With one arm, he grabbed her leg. Before she could do anything, her face met the ground, creating a crater. She almost passed out from that alone, as her leg seared in pain, completely crushed in his palm. She tried to form the words, even with her broken jaw, but he merely pulled her up again, before smashing her down again.

Over and over and over again. She lost count, as her body was torn apart, her insides broken into pieces. After what felt like an eternity, she could only twitch on teh ground, before she heard a blade being unsheathed. Several cuts through the air later, and whatever consciousness she had left from the torture she had experienced knew the Demon Pillar was destroyed. Or as close as it could be.

"So much talk and that's it?"

After a quiet growl, he spat on her. The fluid touched her skin and it was like a trigger of an explosion. She tried to scream, roll around, crawl away to safety. She couldn't do this, waht was she thinking?! Facing a monster like that head on! She should've just given up, never started this, just killed herself before he could do this to-

Just as her mind began to shatter, as the pain began to catch up and become unbearable, there was one thread left in her body. Originating from her deepest corner of her heart, it reached her brain. Even if her eyes were almost completely shut, she could make out the shape of Saber slowly leaving, intending to let Agrippina vanish on her own. Or even keep her and the Pillar alive to keep the Singularity stable. Still, the sight pulled her sanity back, as she realized one single thing.

He was going after her daughter. No. Not after all this. Not when she finally realized the truth.

She ignored the pain. She ignored how she should not be able to move. Whatever energy she had left, whatever will she had left, she channeled it. Repairing her body as much as she could as she crawled after Saber, who just started to pick up speed. As weak as her connection was with Stolas, it was still present. And with that, she formed a tendril around her, grabbing her broken body. As she reeled herself back, she slowly picked out a seperate, black dagger. She coughed in amusement, even under the pain.

She would get to use this after all.

A throw. She soared through the air. She could barely make out Saber, even with her eyes like this. But it was enough. He was so lost in his own anger, his focus to hurt her precious child... he never saw it coming.

The blade, coated in the poison she created and refined since the start of this entire messed, imbedded itself into his back. As smiled weakly, even as she fell down, already feeling herself fade. His screams, louder and more hurt than ever, were like music to her ears. Agrippina closed her eyes, sure that if time didn't kill her, Saber would. She had done all she could. She did her duty as a mother, properly for once. Now the rest was up to-

_An innocent squeal. A tired woman, lying in her bed, craddling a child in her arms. The baby gurgled, grabbing at her finger as she poked at the newborn, smiling a genuine smile at its giggles, forgetting her worries and schemes for the future, only feeling the warmth of lo-_

Agrippina's eyes shot open, still seeing that image clearly. Weakly, she reached out, even as a shadow appeared over her.

"Ah... "

If only Nero could laugh like this with her again...


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Supernova**

_He felt hot. No, he felt scorching, as he stumbled away, his blade loosely in his hand as he dragged it over the ground. It took so long... so many years... but he finally did it. He had dropped everything the moment he heard about his whereabouts. Being the leader of the huns. King of Bern. Owner of Rome. He dropped all of those titles without a second thought when he found out where the fucker was._

_He had no idea how long it had taken. Weeks. Months. Maybe even years. Following those tracks, he never stopped moving. No time to rest. No time to sleep. No matter what stupid fucking bandits stood in his way. No matter what monsters he forgot to murder before. He kept on moving without a break. Nothing else was important. After all, what was more important than killing the fucker who betrayed him and killed his own kin?!_

_Tearing him apart was so satisfying. But..._

_"No more tricks, ey... Wittich?" He muttered, glancing back at a moment at the chopped up corpse of the shithead. Spitting to the side, blood and saliva mixed, he felt himself cool down, the steam slowly disappearing he had been building up all this time during this stupid goose chase. "Fuckin' traitor. Died too fast."_

_He raised his blade, even as he felt his energy leaving and that his body was going cold way too fast. Looking around with a tired look, he searched for his sheathe. But after seconds of searching, he growled in annoyance. Fuck it. With that in mind, he threw it to the side, before hearing a splash of water. Blinking, he glanced at the lake he just threw it in. A flat look was on his face when he could see Mimung slowly floating to the ground. He really wanted to get angry right now. But... he just felt way too burned out for that shit. So fuck it. He stumbled over the tree and let himself fall against it, giving it a nice new red paint job while he was at it._

_God, this shit was so exhausting and the payoff wasn't even remotely satisfying enough. Once he got some sleep in he should... His half lidded eyes stared at his bloodied hands in confusion. Huh. He should do what? Go back? For what? He wasn't a ruler. Never was in the mood for that shit. Couldn't pick a fight with others, they were all too weak. And the guys he usually bothered, like Siegfried or Etzel... they were all dead already. Gone. Leaving him behind after they had the gall to die from someone other than him. Thinking back at the person who was destruction incarnate, it was especially upsetting. She was supposed to be a force of nature. They shouldn't die. Shaking his head weakly, he exhaled. Damn it, he really ran out of shit to kill. Wittich was the last one on his list, his former companion and now dead ass traitor._

_He really tried. Thinking about what to do. But in the end, he just felt way too tired. He felt cold, he was sleepy and he felt like a corpse. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he shifted his body a bit to make himself a bit more comfortable._

_"What now... ?" He muttered to himself, before closing his eyes._

_Dietrich von Bern would not wake up again._

/

They were wandering around aimlessly, as she healed up. Ritsuka assumed they were sent here for a reason, so he decided that they should take a look around. Yet the place they were in appeared to be a simple shopping district of some sort. Only devoid of any people. Still, trying to find whatever could be here wasn't the biggest of his concerns. He glanced at the back of Nero, who walked around rather stiffly.

"In the end, she remained the same!" She dramatically sighed, pretty much slamming her hands on her hips as she laughed at the sky, too exaggerated to be genuine. "Oh well! I am Nero, the great emperor! I didn't require her to accept my forgiveness anyway! I give, for I am generous!"

"Nero… " Ritsuka muttered walking up to her as she started to sound hysterical, shaking her head frantically.

"I mean, what else did I expect? She remained cruel until the end! One could say that is even commendable, to hold onto-"

"Nero! Enough!" He pulled her at her shoulder, shaking his head in sadness. "Stop doing that to yourself… "

"Doing what to myself? Praetor, you don't understand. I do it _for _myself." She slowly turned her head, her voice a mere mutter, as a desperate smile was plastered on her face, despite the tear stained, red eyes of hers. "If I don't keep lying to myself, it will just hurt too much. "

Ritsuka grit his teeth at that. This... this was just too cruel. A daughter who finally got what she wanted, before it was ripped away from her grasp. Was it a wonder she wanted to pretend it didn't happen? But he refused to believe that this was healthy. He opened his mouth, but before he could do so, the comms came to life.

"There-What?"

"Sensors aren't lying… "

"What is it?" He asked as he could hear Da Vinci's and Mash's surprise in their voices. He heard Mash taking a deep breath, as if steadying herself.

"The grail. It's nearby."

His eyes widened. What? Wait, that meant-

"I... I know this place," Nero muttered as they stopped in front of a building, right where Mash directed them to. She gently touched the wall, rubbing her hand over it. "I've eaten here. With her." She shook her head in disbelief. "I threw a tantrum for so long, wanting to see the outside... I... that was before she started to... "

She choked, clenching her eyes shut before taking a deep breath. Entering the building, Ritsuka couldn't believe his eyes. The grail was indeed there. Just... sitting on a lone table. How-How did nobody notice this place? Or did Agrippina keep it hidden up until now? Glancing at Nero, he could see her slowly stumble over it, her eyes fogging up. She was clearly seeing something else than him. Something besides the emptiness of this place.

"...this was the first time I saw her relaxing. Just…forgetting about the politics and such... she did chide me a lot for my manners but... "

Her hands shook when she took the golden cup into her hands.

"Nero... "

She chuckled as tears dropped on the floor. She turned her head, revealing her crying face as she still had her forced smile on her face.

"We're quite the hideous sight, aren't we, praetor?" She slowly shook her head, starting to sob. "We committed crimes no person should do to their family. Our relationship is one of the most twisted of them all. Yet…yet... " In the end, her mask broke. Clutching her head as she dropped the grail, she fell down to her knees. "Why is it I still cry for her?! I thought I got over it a long time ago, but just one gesture of affection and I-I-"

He didn't even hesitate in hugging her. She immediately held onto him, letting out a scream as she let it all out. Ritsuka could just clench his eyes shut, helplessly. Nobody should live through this. But before he could think about it more, the panic in Mash's voice was evident when he heard it.

"S-senpai!"

To Nero's credit, she immediately stood up as he reached for the grail. Wiping her voice, she steadied herself, as Ritsuka stood up, grail in hand, pressing himself against her back. No no no...

"Siegfried was really low balling things... " Da Vinci muttered in disbelief.

No. Nononononono. That had to be a damn joke. But the punchline never arrive. Instead, the truth crashed down from above, destroying the ceiling and essentially blowing up the entire building as Nero covered Ritsuka with whatever her Imperial Privilege gave her.

"Oh, don't you fuckin' worry! Ya following her in a minute! Ahahahahahahahaha!"" He heard the strained, suffering, half dead, but still very much _alive _voice, filled with anger so great that it looped back to making him sound giddy.

Saber of Cologne looked like a complete wreck when the air cleared around them. Twitching as his skin pulsated, a deadly purple color as spots on several locations it really shouldn't have. His left arm was completely covered by that color, loosely hanging around. But on top of it all, he was literally steaming a purple mist, as if he was vaporizing the poison as it infected him with pure body heat alone. Actually it most likely was, to an unhealthy degree, since his wounds literally sizzled and bubbled like crazy, just opening them up more and more. But judging from his expression, twitchin wide grin as it was, he just didn't care.

Ritsuka couldn't help but step back in fear as Nero held up her arm protectively, her blade pointed at their opponent. What the hell did it take to kill that guy?! Why wasn't he dead yet?! Nero snarled, her eyes filled with anger as she tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Do us a favor, Saber, and notice that you're dying!"

"I decide when I die, shithead! I decide! And I want that fuckin' grail!" He screamed in defiance, pointing at Ritsuka holding the cup. With heavy breathing, his throat created an inhuman sound when he grabbed onto his left arm, digging his fingers into its flesh. "And it's fuckin' Dietrich!" He took a deep breath and started to pull, rage reaching new heights. "DIETRICH VON BERN!"

And because he didn't freak out Ritsuka enough, he ripped off his damn left arm and threw it at Nero, like a tank shooting its ammunition. Her eyes widened, barely able to get her sword up to deflect it, but it still knocked her back. In that instance, Dietrich was already upon them, sword raised high with a berserker like rage.

His swings shook the air itself. It felt like they could tear mountains apart. It terrified Ritsuka to his core. Not that he was so close to them, with Nero trying her damndest to deflect the damage even if the aftershocks hit her body head on. No, what terrified him that, despite Dietrich's body being screwed beyond belief with poison and whatever his rage did to him, he could still pull out so much power from it.

"Guys, any tips?!" Ritsuka yelled, trying his best not to distract Nero at all as he remained still as she sweat buckets trying to survive.

"Is he-Is he burning out the poison?!" Mash yelled out in disbelief. Meanwhile Da Vinci hummed in thought before snapping her fingers.

"With Nero as your only servant? Buy time!"

Wow. Amazing advice right there, he thought dryly. He didn't even hesitate when he raised his arm, as much as he could even as Nero tried to deflect the titanic swings against them.

"Nero, **let's survive this**!"

The last command seal shone and disappeared. His servant couldn't even let out a quip, so focused on not dying, that she used the boost she just gained to divert the enemy's sword to the side with both of her hands on her sword, before the muscles on her right arm pulsated. A punch square into Dietrich's gut landed, the infected and burning flesh giving away just a little bit to Ritsuka's shock even when he heard the bones crack a bit, before the king skidded over the ground, doubled over for a moment.

For a moment, he liked to believe it did something. But, instead, Dietrich merely rolled his shoulders... and picked up the pace. The following exchange was no different from before he used his command seal. By now, this was starting to get ridiculous for Ritsuka, as Nero used all of her sword skill available to deflect the strikes. What the hell was this guy's top gear, if he still kept going faster and stronger?!

"Why the fuck is a shithead like ya famous?!" He screamed, repeatedly slamming down Mimung, which Nero had to deflect carefully or else it would just cut through. "What the hell is wrong with the people?!" He asked, yet not leaving Nero a chance to respond at all. "What's so great about you?!" By now, he was reeling back his arm so much, it should've been a clear opening, but it full arc swings were so fast that Nero couldn't take advantage of it. "So fuckin' annoying! None of ya could die easy to me! Not yer Rider, not yer Saber, not even fuckin' Caster!"

"Die, die, **die**!"

By now, Nero was on her knees, desperately gasping for air, her back pushed against her master as they were shoved across the ground with each strike. But in an instance, the status quo got broken. So focused on his blade, Nero never saw it coming when they stopped for just a split second. In that split second, a foot imbedded itself into the side of her head. Ritsuka could see how the flesh and bone were almost torn off, before Nero was flung aside. The next moment, Dietrich already raised his arm once more. As Ritsuka pushed back, crawling on the ground, he already thought he was going to die.

But instead, his Heroic Spirit defied the odds. As quickly as she was kicked away, she had returned. This time, she took advantage from Dietrich's mistake of ignoring her. From behind, she jumped onto his back, her face profusely bleeding but determined. Grabbing onto his head, she let out a warrior cry, before twisting it. Or at least, she tried to. To their combined horror, he kept on walking, his neck not moving a single inch. Instantly, Nero changed her tactics and wrapped her arms around his neck. With a furious scream, she started to choke him. This seemed to work, as his breathing immediately stopped as his airways were blocked.

However. Instead of slowing down... he merely exploded. The heat wave crashed directly into Nero, but screamed at the burn. Yet she kept a hard hold on his throat. In fact, she squeezed just harder. But Dietrich kept on moving, even as his face turned blue, even as his skin was literally falling apart and burning up on the ground. The rock underneath them began to melt and Ritsuka could feel the heat even as he desperately crawled back. Then, to his horror, his back hit a wall.

"NO!" Nero screamed, trying to put more force into her choke hold, but time slowed down for them. Dietrich raised Mimung, a wide grin on his face even if he didn't take a breath for quite a while. Then, he swung it down-

Only for the blade to harmlessly clatter on the ground. His grin, victory assured and filled with anger, was still in place, when Nero let go in shock and his face fell down to the ground. He didn't notice it at all, as he legs and arms were already a mere faint golden dust. Until the head, his expression didn't change before he disappeared completely.

Hyperventilating, Ritsuka could only stare in shock at where Dietrich was before. Nero merely collapsed to the ground, hissing in pain.

"What just... ?"

"Isn't it obvious, master?" Sherlock commented, taking a whiff from his pipe in a somber voice. "He burned out. Together with the poison, it was just too much. Him intensifying his Mana Burst backfired on him. His Battle Continuation was potent, but he outpaced it with his reckless behavior." He let out a sigh. "No matter how high one's Battle Continuation rank is, once the core is too damaged, even the mightiest of heroes will disappear."

"Data isn't lying," Da Vinci commented, letting out a breath of relief as she leaned back on her chair. "He's gone."

It... it felt unreal. He could still see him. Fight and tear him apart. But he shook his head. It was true. Now that everything was over and done, with that image of an ignorant grin on his face... he could only feel pity.

"He never moved on. Or learned," he muttered to himself. "Just clung to what he did best."

"Sometimes people don't want to change with the chances they get, praetor," Nero commented, rubbing her face with a wince. "Perhaps next time it will be different. Perhaps never." She dropped onto her back, letting out a small whine of pain before giving her master a reassuring smile. "Only time can tell."

Maybe... Ritsuka raised his head at the sky, even as the world around them began to crumble. It truly was over, wasn't it?

"Let's get you home, senpai."

At Mash's warm voice, he closed his eyes. What a Singularity. It certainly was a challenging one...


	26. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Back To Schedule**

It felt like ages since he was walking through the hallways of Chaldea. Even though it hasn't even been a week. He chuckled dryly at the memory. So much happened with almost no break in between, it felt like a lot more things happened at once, thus giving him the impression of ages. Still, it was really relaxing just doing nothing and walking around. Or more specifically, see what the other servants were up to.

He heard the jolly mood coming from the mess hall. Peeking inside, he couldn't see he'd expected that. The tables and chairs were put aside and the ground was covered with tatami. Seated in a square formation, practically every single Japanese hero appeared to be judging the one in the middle and found her excellent, given the smiles they had as they drank their tea. The albino didn't pay any heed to the attention however, focusing on making the share of a certain Shinsengumi captain. Once done, the emotionless aura disappeared, leaving a Gensai who wiped her forehead with a polite smile before offering the cup of tea. Okita didn't waste a second to drink it. The effect was immediate. Just like everyone else, she almost melted, completely relaxing with a blissful expression.

"Aaaaah~! That hits the spot!" She smacked her lips, tilting her head a bit in surprise as she pointed at the cup, just as Gensai was about to rise and move on to the next table. "Did you use different tea for this one?"

"Kept for special occasions." Gensai winked coyly, before bowing her head a bit. "Consider it an apology for killing you."

Immediately, Okita slapped her hands on her ears.

"Lalalalalala, I don't remember any of that! And you don't either!" She pouted and frantically shook her head in denial. "Fake news! Fake news!"

"Still salty you died, Okita?" Nobu asked in a teasing tone, seated right next to her. Immediately, Okita punched after her, who merely leaned away with a mocking laugh.

"Shut it, Nobu!"

"Ha, if it were me I'd shoot her down before she could even reach me!" She pointed her finger at Gensai like a gun and fired with a playful 'bang'. Gensai took it in good humor, merely smiling politely. "Easily!"

Okita however didn't take it as well, as she crossed her arms with a skeptical look on her face.

"If it were you, she'd just cut you while you stand on a bridge not suspecting a thing while you get distracted by whatever weird thing that was happening at the time."

In an instant, they both shot up, slamming their forehead into each other.

"You wanna go now?!"

"Try me!"

Ritsuka left, just as he saw Gensai cover her mouth, as if witnessing something scandalous. Moving on, he rolled his shoulders as he decided to visit the command room for Mash. Before he got far however, yet another room caught his attention. Looking inside, it seemed the Christian servants held an impromptu sermon or something. His eyes widened when he saw the picture on a podium, before his eyes softened up.

"Oh lord, please grant salvation to that lost soul. For he is innocent and lost in his path... "

Deciding not to interrupt, he moved on, leaving George from leading the prayer for Abel. Letting out a small prayer himself, he decided to move on. Passing by another room, he noticed Siegfried and Altera actually talking together. A rare sight indeed. Even more rare was that they both rose cups in the air, with a third cup standing on the counter. He could imagine what kind of talk they might have, but yet again, it felt a bit too private. Sadly the next event, he couldn't avoid.

He came to a stop when he spotted Tamamo, leaning around the corner, her tails moving excitedly. Walking next to her, he opened his mouth. Instantly, she slapped her hand on it and hushed him. While he narrowed his eyes, leaning back offended, he decided to remain quiet. Leaning over her head, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Nero had an expecting smile on her face, hands on her hips as she faced her mother. Said mother was nervously playing with her hair, face slightly flushed as she glanced at Nero, before trying to casually look away, as if she didn't care. In the end, she cleared her throat and put on a shaky smile that was supposed to look smug, but appeared more embarrassed than anything.

"Hmph. Like I thought, you dress like a whore!" She said, her voice cracking with no sign of the actual experienced speaker present in the face of her greatest weakness, born in the Singularity of Cologne. Pushing her hair back, more flailing than dramatically, she crossed her arms and forced out a mocking laugh. "H-hahaha! Truly, you don't understand the true value of appearances! If-if you did, you could have everyone wrapped around your finger!"

Nero hummed in thought, nodding a few times. Anyone else would think she was just insulted. But by now, practically all but the most inexperienced and most dense individuals would be unable to read between the times. Nero was naturally one of the individuals who could read her mother like her book. Snapping her fingers at her, Nero giggled.

"As expected as the best looking woman in this place, mama knows best!" She respectfully bowed her head, pure happiness on her face. "I'm ready to accept and learn at any time!"

"Eh?" Agrippina's head turned red like a tomato. Coughing in panic, she reacted on instinct, her fist next to her hips when she puffed up her cheeks, her shoulders slightly hunched. "S-stop calling me mama!" Taking a deep breath, she tried to return to her regal position by pushing her hair back before crossing her arms again. "A-and don't make a fool out of me! As-as if you want to learn f-from me!"

"But you're the best teacher I could ask for! My intentions are pure and innocent!" Nero replied instantly, straightening up her back as she put her hand on her chest, completely ignoring her mother's embarrassed antics, instead looking at Agrippina with the eyes of a child, not a single speck of mischievousness or lying behind them. Her mother could recognize that, which only caused bonus damage to her mental fortitude that was weak from the beginning.

"A-and what intentions would those be?!"

"Spending time with my beloved mother, of course!" Nero responded instantly, laughing a bit as if Agrippina said something silly. By now her head was almost steaming as if she was Dietrich as she covered her mouth with her arm, most likely trying to hide her giddy smile at the love she was being shown.

"S-s-s-s-so brutish!" Biting her lip, she puffed out her chest as she closed her eyes, hoping she could recover that way as she tried to inject some pride into her words. "But-but fine! If you really beg me that much, I s-suppose I can share some of m-my wisdom, meaningless as it w-would be!""

Naturally, closing her eyes meant nothing when she was hugged. She froze up when Nero nuzzled her face into her, giggling excited.

"Yay! I love you, mama!"

It was simply too much. The sheer joy in her voice at the prospect of doing something with Agrippina. The open, shameless affection. She couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, Agrippina pushed Nero back a bit, who tilted her head like a confused puppy. Then, turning around, the Caster took a starting position as if she were in the olympics.

With tears in her eyes and her head steaming red, she dashed away as if her life depended on it.

"I won't lose to yooooouuuuuu!"

"Mama, wait!"

With that, the Roman comedic mother-daughter-duo once again ran through Chaldea's halls. Tamamo clapped her hands together in a prayer while Ritsuka ran his hand through his hair with a wince.

Others would think she was being competitive with her daughter and they'd be absolutely correct. Just not in a test of skill or wits. No, it was a contest of properly demonstrating their love for each other. Suffice to say, Ritsuka felt pity as he let out a sigh. That was the sixth time such a thing happened. Agrippina sure was weak to genuine showings of love outside of a life and death situation. Honestly, she tried so hard to connect with her daughter, yet Nero just took the lead every time, as expected, as she tried her best to make up for all the lost and wasted time. It was honestly somewhat sad.

"The worst is I know she's a genuine mother's girl ever since that singularity," Tamamo muttered as she glanced at Ritsuka, shaking her head in exasperation. "What a natural born bully."

Ritsuka laughed at all the chaos in this place. Just another day at Chaldea, huh?


	27. Servant Sheets

**Berserker of Cologne. True Name: Abel.**

Parameters:

STR: A

AGI: A

END: B

MAN: C

LCK: D

Class Skills

**Mad Enhancement**: EX

Parameters are increased immensely in exchange of sanity. Communication is highly difficult.

Due to the revelations of his death breaking his mind, Berserker acts like he did before his life and thus is capable of normal speech.. However, his "obsession to imitate Cain" taints all of his interactions. It is something he sees as completely normal, thus discouraging him from solving everything with "murder" is impossible. A master must use a command seal to prevent becoming a target, if they can't divert Berserker's attention.

Personal Skills:

**Divinity**: C

As the son of Adam and Eve, creations of God, he only has an indirect connection to God and was merely a shepherd in life, thus granting him this level.

**Animal Dialogue (Love)**: A+

The ability to communicate with animals. At this level, complex exchange are possible. The "Love" version also grants animals in contact with Berserker their own "Mad Enhancement." Effects increased when applied to "sheep kind".

A skill from his life, distorted by his death. As perhaps the first shepherd under God's command, Berserker had a knack to lead his cattle. His death, and his resulting madness, synchronised with his other task as a shepherd: Sacrificing the cattle. Thus, a mutation of the Animal Dialogue, combining both life and death. A true love given by his brother, he shall pass on to God.

**First Murderer**: C+

Increases one's performance when desiring to end someone's life. Effects increase when facing someone he holds respect and love to, similar to his brother.

Due to his mental distortion and obsession, Berserker is able to mimic Cain's personal skill, the one that earned him the moniker "The First Murderer". However, it is nothing but a desperate imitation in comparison, as there could only be one "first" murderer.

Noble Phantasm:

**Blood of Abel - The Righteous Blood That Taints The Soil**

Rank: B

NP Type: Anti-Army

Range: 10 - 50

"Your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil! And so, cursed shall you be by the soil that gaped with its mouth to take your brother's blood from your hand! If you till the soil, it will no longer give you strength!"

The first punishment given out by God to Cain. Manifesting as a sort of "Boundary Field", it is essentially an automatic Noble Phantasm, activating upon the moment Berserker sheds blood. Like a parasyte, his blood will take away the natural energy within the earth. Then, the energy is sent back to Abel, while the ground shall be barren.

One might consider it "an apology", as the earth attempts to give Berserker back what he is owed.

**Sacrifice of Abel - The Favored Gift For God**

Rank: A+

NP Type: Anti-Unit

Range: 1

"By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead."

What could be said to be Berserker's only feat in life: His sacrifices that were preferred by God himself. Enhanced by his own distortion, this Noble Phantasm represents both his life and his death.

Sacrificing his herd, but also sacrificing those he "murders", Berserker shall be granted blessings to ensure he is still able to speak even if he should be dead as long as he is able to sacrifice something in time. One might call this a "healing potion" type of Noble Phantasm. Naturally it is more effective when sacrificing his own cattle, as he would naturally love his own more than "random strangers".

An ironic Noble Phantasm, that might've saved Berserker's life if he had it before his death.

**Assassin of Cologne. True Name: Kawakami Gensai.**

Parameters:

STR: D

AGI: A

END: D

MAN: E

LCK: D

Class Skills

Presence Concealment: C

Hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. The rank of Presence Concealment drops considerably when preparing to attack.

As someone that lived in recent times and committed her assassinations mostly during the day, she was well versed in hiding within the crowd.

Personal Skills:

* **Disengage C**: As well as returning disadvantageous battle conditions to their initial state, it also returns skill conditions to their starting value and compulsorily cancels several bad statuses.

As a killer in broad daylight, yet only having one kill confirmed, Assassin was an expert in making a quick retreat if the odds were stacked against her.

**Manslayer A**: A sword skill specialized to cutting down humans with a blade. Grants "bonus damage" as long as the target is fully human. Effects lessened the less human the target is.

As one of only four known individuals of her time, she was considered one of the deadliest killers that could rightly consider normal men as their "prey". Meshes excellently with her personal style, which was less focused on "the truth" and more focused on "the reality of death".

**Eye of The Mind (True) B**: Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament.

Experience gained by the numerous assassinations in her life and having participated in several wars where she had to fight for her life, Assassin has developed a keen mind for combat, always planning and considering her options when going for the kill.

**Shiranui Ryu B+**: A style specialized in high speeds and "fighting at any time". Graceful with iaijutsu and savage with wide swings, this style was highly difficult to see through without any specific skills. At this rank, the first strike in the battlefield she recognizes as her own, outside of miracles or outside interference, belongs to her and her alone. Becomes even faster when the target is unaware of Assassin. Unlike the Jigen-ryu, it is not limited to just the first strike to be effective nor did it require any specific form to "activate" this effect, though Assassin prefers the iaijutsu.

A style Assassin has developed in her life, thus she had gained this rank of mastery. Unlike famous masters like Yagyu Munenori however, it had not reached the pinnacle in her life, as she didn't devote herself to the blade and focused more on an art that specializes in killing.

* Available as Staging Ground Bonus, made available by modifications caused by the Singularity

**Noble Phantasm:**

**Kyousei – Symbiotic Understanding Of Death**

**Rank:** B

**NP Type:** Anti-Unit

**Range:** 1

**Maximum Targets: **1

Description:

The representation of Assassin's most famous kill in her history. Taking Sakuma Shozan's head, it was the first time she'd felt she had truly killed someone. As she had perfectly matched his breath, it was like she had experienced his death herself. This experience had shook the core of her being, Desiring to feel it again and again, she pushed herself to replicate this scenario and sought to perfect this technique, as the ultimate expression of respect to any opponent she might face. One strike, one kill, a complete union between killer and victim.

Passively, this skill prevents the degradation of the Presence Concealment skill even when facing an enemy. In practice, it hides her killing intent, thus making it more difficult to read her, making it perfect for assassinations.

Once activated, Assassin's next attack shall end the enemy in one strike. Her blade shall cut through any obstacle if it's Rank is below C and if the attack hits, as shallow as the cut may be, the enemy will die with absolute certainty. However, two conditions are required to bring out the full potential of this Noble Phantasm: It has to be during daylight and the target has to be completely human. If one of those conditions isn't met, the attack shall only carry a "promise to cut" instead of imposing death on the target, merely retaining the sharpness of the Noble Phantasm. If none of the conditions are met, the Noble Phantasm cannot be activated.

Assassin can use this skill in mid battle but usually refrains from "repeatedly using it", as she sees it as an insult to herself and her opponent. However, she is willing to use it if she personally detects "an opening that shall lead to death" in order to maximize her chances.

**Caster of Cologne. True Name: Julia Agrippina.**

Parameters:

Strength: E

Endurance: E

Agility: E

Mana: A

Luck: C

Class Skills:

**Item Creation B+**: The ability to craft items of mystery of any kind. Due to her association with poison, poisonous items receive a bonus when creating them.

Naturally, as someone involved with the dark side of the Roman Empire as she was, she would naturally pick up the skills of those that hid in the shadows.

**Territory Creation -:** See Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis

Personal Skills:

**High Speed Incantation B:** The ability to speak magical incantations at an accelerated speed.

A less known fact about Caster, her ability to use the blessings of the gods to do her bidding. One couldn't survive in the political and dark world of Rome on "normal" words alone. Thus, she made contact with the mystical factions in order to prove that "words are power". A powerful tool to thwart assassinations, having protected her until her demise.

**Incitement (Court) A:** A skill representing her ability as a manipulator in the political battlefield of Rome. Not suited for the masses, but meant to target individuals and politicians.

Returning from exile. Granting Nero the heir title. Removing her obstacles in any way possible. Her words were her most dangerous weapons, influencing and controlling those she wished in order to rise in power. At this rank, one could consider it an abnormal skill, that could make even strong willed people (at least temporarily in this case) follow her every wish - as long as she didn't slip up on her own.

Noble Phantasm(s):

**Name: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis**

Title: Illusionary Empire of Agrippina

**Rank: A**

**NP Type: Anti-Fortress**

**Range: 10-100**

Maximum Number of Targets: 1000.

Description:

Which would become the city of Cologne in the future, her birthplace and the city she would be said to be the founder of in future records. An important cornerstone of human history, it was named by her uncle Claudius after they married. The only colony named after a Roman woman. Perhaps one of the only things Caster holds fond memories for, as short lived as her stay in that place was. Her safe haven, the origin of a girl's innocent dream, twisted by desire and ambitions. Her ideal empire.

In place of a "normal" Territory, Caster can activate her Noble Phantasm to create a Boundary Field akin to a Reality Marble. When activated, the area around her becomes a Roman city, a fusion of her home and the capital where she fought a constant shadow war for dominance. It is a trap, taking everyone that was in her area into it. Akin to an author, she can freely move around the buildings, create masses of civilians and soldiers to do her bidding, sowing confusion everywhere. As part of her home field advantage, all of her skills increase in potency inside the Noble Phantasm and can be used anywhere, anytime, on anyone.

On top of that, her Incitement is improved by going from "words needed to reach the desired result" to "actions needed to reach the desired result", with the help of her Noble Phantasm. To maximize this effect, she is also granted "Human Observation" of the B rank to know exactly how she needs to move her home, as the Empress knows all and controls all.

At last, Caster shall create her "perfect Nero". Maybe it was twisted love or just a remainder of her greatest failure she wants to turn into victory. Either way, this Nero was her "strongest" tool, moving around freely and even acting as the real Nero, able to even fool servants. However, it is also the lynchpin of her own illusions. Breaking it will also break the Noble Phantasm and also reveal Caster's true location in the maze.

Unlike a certain other Noble Phantasm, its mystery is lacking however. The soldiers, the buildings, all of those are barely above hallucinations. Any weapons and attacks Caster herself doesn't create without the Noble Phantasm merely do miniscule damage to servants. It is less a secure fortress and more "her favored place to manipulate people in". A frail illusion, easily overcome by the harsh reality of life.

**Saber of Cologne. True Name: Dietrich von Bern**

Parameters:

STR: A

AGI: B

END: B

MAN: A

LCK: B

Class Skills

**Magic Resistance A**: The ability to resist magic. Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a 'Magus Killer'

In an age where the supernatural still walked among the normal, it is natural to have this skill at this level.

**Riding A**: The ability to use a mount. All vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts.

Again, a natural skill a king should have, being surrounded by the supernatural.

Personal Skills:

**Eye of the Mind (False) A**: A natural talent to foresee/sense and avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience. At this rank, the perception of the user could be considered utterly supernatural, being able to discern information and plotting the correct course of action without even thinking.

This man had fought them all. Giants, dragons, armies, heroes. It was only natural for the strongest of his country, the king of all, to have honed his martial instinct through those experiences.

**Temper of the King A+**: A skill that enables the use of Prana Burst and Battle Continuation proportional to his emotions. At this rank, high speed movement, explosive power and defense are granted, as well as the ability to ignore lethal wounds as long as his high level of "emotions" is present. Possible to "overload" this skill, at the cost of personal well being.

If there was one word one would use to describe Saber's motivation in life, it would be his pride. Wrath would fit as well. Every time he perceived a slight, he would not stop at anything to see his goal achieved: Punishment and vengeance.

Noble Phantasm:

**Name: Mimung**

**Title: Breaker of Arms**

**Rank: A+**

**NP Type: Anti-Unit**

**Range: 1-50**

**Maximum Number of Targets: 50.**

Description:

A blade created by Weyland the Smith, named after his teacher Mimir. A weapon that was reforged three times, to make it sharper every time. A sword that put even fear into Siegfried himself, so much that he forbid the use of that weapon.

Out of all the swords Saber gathered, this one might be the strongest out of all of them. If it were him, he would call it a sword greater than the greatest Holy sword and greatest Demonic sword.

Just as it was created, Mimung's focus is "to cut". In order to facilitate this, it is able to cut through anything that does not have B or higher in terms of mystery. Weapons, Armors, mounts, none of them are exempted. If one manages to reach this level of "defense", similar to the Armor of Fafnir, Mimung shall only leave the subtraction between the enemy's defense and his own attack as an obstacle. More esoteric effects, as one might find in Greece or India, shall be halved in effectiveness.

It is possible to create a "slash of pure energy", the cut interpreted as a beam of light. However, it is not an innate ability of the sword and more a consequence of Saber's rage being channeled into the blade. Thus, it does not have the same properties it would have if it were used normally.

Truly, a sword most intended to be used like a sword: In melee.


End file.
